Tales of Destiny: The Beginning
by Destiny Force
Summary: When a young boy makes a wish to be like his heroes, his wish is granted, though not in the way he thinks. He finds himself exploring the worlds of his favorite games and fighting alongside his heroes...and becoming a hero he never thought he'd be.
1. A Boy and a Hedgehog

Authors Note: Hello out there. Finally I can start my stories. I've had this series in my head for several months now. I hope you will like it as I am still thinking of new things to add to it. Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or games that I use. I only own my own characters.

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning.

Chapter One: A Boy and a Hedgehog

"GAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! RATS!"

Dylan was playing his Nintendo Gamecube, trying hard to beat the same boss on Skies of Arcadia for the fifth time that that day, only to have his characters all die at once from one HUGE attack. Not exactly the best way to end your game session...

_'Dang rich japanese-looking guy. That Golden Flurry attack is just annoying. Money does NOT make the world go round.'_

After finally deciding to give up for the day, he decided to watch some TV to relax and mentally unwind. Unfortunately, pickings were slim...

"Saw it...saw it...saw it...saw it...Man, who decides what's on TV on Saturdays?!

Dylan finally decided to get a drink while he thought out his next course of action. While he contemplated his options, his gaze fell on his game collection, and he began to feel like there he was missing out on something.

He had felt this way all the 15 years of his life so far. Every time he looked at his games, namely the old console games like Sonic and Mario, he felt like he was looking into another world. When he was playing them, he felt like he was part of those worlds, like he belonged there. This had been happening since he was 8, and with more focus and clarity each time.

'Forget it, man. It's getting to your head.' He went to the stack and took out a game, a Sonic game to be exact. 'Sonic is cool. He runs around, kicking bad guy butt and taking names on a daily basis. I've only have tackling the laundry or mowing the lawn to my credit.'

He looked down at the game, sighed and said to himself.

"I wish I could have a life like that."

No sooner than the words had left his lips that the game started to glow.

Dylan's eyes widened as he dropped the game on the floor and backpedaled to the recliner he had been sitting on. The glow left the game to settle on the TV, making the TV's screen light up with multiple colors. The screen got brighter and brighter until finally there was a flash of light, forcing Dylan to shield his eyes. When the light died down, Dylan couldn't believe what he saw.

In front of the TV was a swirling vortex flashing different colors as it hovered in the room.

"Okay, running time!" Dylan said as he turned to bolt out the door, but the vortex seemed to have other ideas. WIthout warning, Dylan was swept of his feet and sucked into it yelling "CRRAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!" and everything went black.

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When he came to, Dylan found himself in a middle of a field. He stood up and found a jewel beside him along with a short, purple sword. Dylan stooped down and picked up the sword and noticed there was writing on it. 'Soul Sword. That's catchy' he thought to himself. He then picked up the jewel. It was a brilliant red jewel that had a weird shape at the top that connected to a sharp point on the bottom. 'Huh. I wonder who would left this out here. Oh well, finders keepers' With that, he put the jewel in his pocket, then started walking, sword in hand. 'There should a town somewhere close by. Maybe I'll find help there.' As he walked, he absentmindedly twirled the sword in his fingertips. 'Hey look at me. I'm a swordsman.' That thought made him chuckle to himself.

He wasn't walking too long when he noticed a huge shadow below him. When he looked up, he wished he hadn't. A airship of some kind was flying above him, and it was BIG. It seemed to be moving at a quick pace, but then it stopped right above him. A few silent moments past, then the bottom opened up, and a swarm of robots of different types landed around Dylan, guns trained on him.

'What's going on? What's happen...wait is that an EggPawn? No that can't be!'

Just then, an object hovered down in front of him. It was a mini-hovermobile of sorts, and the person riding it made Dylan's hair stand on end. It was a stout man with a red moustache and body which made him look like an egg. "You, boy!" he said in a commanding voice, "You have something of mine. I would like it back please."

Dylan was stunned. "Y-You're Doctor Eggman!" The man known as Eggman was unphased. "I'm not surprised that you recognize me."

"But that can't be! You're made up! You're in a game!"

Eggman was furious. "I beg your pardon?! I'm not some made-up person you think is in a ga..." He cut off as he looked at the young 15-year-old boy, more specifically the sword he was carrying. Eggman's face showed surprise which soon turning to glee as he laughed his signature laugh.

After the laughter (Hey that rhymes!), Eggman looked at Dylan with a look that clearly said 'I have won the jackpot!' "A pleasure to meet you at last, Destined."

Dylan was confused. "Destined? Me?"

"Don't play the fool. I know all about the power you possess, as well as one of the keys to using it: the Chaos Emeralds!" At this, Dylan reached down and pulled out the jewel he found earlier. Now he recognized it: the red Chaos Emerald! Eggman continued, "I have made it one of my missions to find you and unlock the secrets to the power you possess!" Upon hearing this, Dylan backed up, holding the sword in his shaking hand in way he hoped was threatening. "Now, Destined, this way please." Dylan kept backing up, until the bots stopped him.

Dylan was frantic, his thought screaming, 'Someone! Anyone! HELP!'

Then, as he thought that, a strange gust of blue wind surrounded everyone. "No, it can't be." Eggman said, realizing what was causing the wind. The wind died down to reveal a small figure standing in front of Dylan. He was a blue hedgehog with sharp spines along his back, wearing white gloves over his hands, and wearing red-and-white sneakers. The figure calmly pointed a finger at Eggman and said,

"Geez, Eggman! I knew you were bad, but picking on a kid? Have you sunk so low?"

Eggman turned livid with rage. "Sonic, you pest! Not you again!" He then turned to his robot minions and gave a command:

"ATTACK!"

All the robots opened fire. Dylan screamed with fear as they fired, but Sonic quickly picked him up and bolted out of the mob, dodging bullets as he went, running as if Amy was on his heels.

"I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!" Eggman roared as he saw Sonic escaping with Dylan in tow.

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Sonic didn't stop running until they reached a small town several miles away. He then set down his passenger, who was shaking with fear. "It's okay. You're safe now." he said as he helped the boy to his feet. The boy looked around for a few seconds as he tried to find his rescuer. "Down here." The boy looked down at Sonic and gave a start, falling on the seat of his pants.

Sonic chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that. I'm Sonic, but you probably recognize me." The boy nodded and said, "Yeah I do. My name's Dylan. Dylan Mitchell."

Sonic smiled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet ya Dylan."

"Thanks. You too."

Dylan got up again and followed Sonic into the town. "Why did you help me anyway?"

Sonic shrugged "Eh, no special reason. Why was Eggman messing with you? You break one of his toys?"

Dylan shook his head. "No, that wasn't it. There were other reasons." He took out the red Emerald as he said the last part. "One is this."

He showed the Emerald to Sonic, who gave a start.

"I found this out in that field I was in."

Sonic calmed down pretty quick. "That's a good reason he would pick on you, but from the way he was acting, there has to be more."

Dylan shrugged, and held the sword he still had in his hand. "Well, the only other thing is this sword I found with the Emerald."

Sonic turned to look at the sword and nearly jumped. He looked at Dylan, eyes widened. "Where did you find that?!"

Dylan sighed. "Long story short, I'm at home when this vortex appears out of nowhere, sucks me into it, I wake up in a field with the sword and the Emerald nex to me. Next thing I know, Eggman shows up and calls me the Destined, whoever that is."

"Wait, then that means...you're the Destined!"

"The what now? I still don't know what's going on here." Dylan said, but Sonic had turned serious. "I'll tell you later Dylan, but for right now, let's get you somewhere safe." With that said he picked up Dylan again. "Hang on!" he said, and started running like the wind. Dylan hung on, both scared and confused. 'To the best of my knowledge, Sonic is only serious when something really important turns up. What's this Destined business all about?' He quickly shook off the feelings of dread. 'Worry about that later, dude.' Sonic kept running, zooming past many buildings and houses. He put on the brakes, however, when several robots fell out of the sky and blocked the path. Sonic set Dylan down and charged at the robots, smashing into one with a well-placed spin attack. Some of the bots opened fire, but Sonic leaped out of the way and the shots hit some the group of bots. The rest continued firing, following the hedgehog as he ran along the roofline. At the end of the roof Sonic jumped in the air, curled into a ball, and used his homing attack to wipe out the remaining robots. Sonic smirked at his victory. "Piece of cake.' Then, hearing a angry yell, turned to see Dylan in the hands of Eggman's Eggmobile, trying to get free.

"I'm afraid that our game ends now." Eggman said. After freeing one of his arms with one huge tug, Dylan quickly threw the Chaos Emerald with all his might, yelling "SONIC!" Sonic made a leap, catching the Emerald and said "I got it! Don't worry, I''ll get you out of there!" Dylan nodded. "I know you will." Eggman snorted "It won't be long before the Emeralds are mine, so I'll let you have it till then." With that, Eggman flew up to his airship, Dylan in tow. The ship then departed, leaving Sonic feeling helpless to do anything. Now he had to stop what Eggman was planning...again 'I never get a break, do I?' Sonic thought as he raced in the direction the ship had gone, intending to help the boy who apparently was the Destined, and who he had started to become friends with.


	2. Pursuit

Authors Note: Here come chapter number 2. Please review my stories, I would like some feedback as to how I am doing so far.

Disclaimer: I own nothing besides my own characters which I create.

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Chapter 2: Pursuit

The next day Sonic began his search through the town for any sign of Eggman's whereabouts. He searched high and low and in between, but had no luck. Just then, he heard a shout,

"Sonic!"

He turned to see a figure hovering down towards the ground, it was a small fox with white gloves like Sonic's, shoes with jets on the bottoms, and two tails behind it that spinning like chopper blades. Sonic recognized him immediately. "Yo Tails, what's up? Long time no see, little bro!" The two friends exchanged a high five. "I'm glad you're here. I heard you tried to save a kid from Dr. Eggman. Is that true?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, but it wasn't just a kid. He was the Destined!"

"WHAT?! Are you sure?!"

"Yeah, I got a good look at the sword he was carrying. However, he doesn't know who he really is or the strength he possesses."

Tails nodded. "Okay, then let me help! I may not know what Eggman is up to, but it can't be good. Besides, two heads are better than one!"

Sonic smiled and gave a thumbs-up. "Okay then. With your help, this should be a piece of cake!"

"I'll do my best!" And with that, the two friends started searching.

----30 minutes later----

Sonic was hiding again from his fan-club. Ever since they had seen him, Sonic's fan-club had been on a relentless search for the blue hedgehog, and Sonic had to run from them several times. He was currently using the moustache-and-newspaper trick to hide. He was about to move aagain when he heard...

"Sonic!"

Sonic spun around, ready to bolt, when he saw it was only Tails. Hey bro. How's the search coming? Fine, thanks. Any reason why you have a moustache? Sonic chuckled in embarrassment as he go rid of it. "Hiding from my fans." "That's not really fair. You and the others have big fan-clubs and I don't." Tails complained. Sonic said, "Trust me Tails, you should consider yourself luckly. Fan-clubs are deadly. So, you find anything?" Did I ever! I found that Eggman was headed toward his old base out in the desert." Sonic smiled. "Alright! Let's go!" he said and took off like a rocket "Wait for me!" Tails yelled as he revved up his tails and took off after his speedy blue friend.

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Dylan was sitting on one of the broken pieces of rock in the temple ruins, completely bored out of his mind. Eggman had tried interrogating him, only for Dylan to use his knowledge on Eggman and Internet fan stories to insult his jailer in every way imaginable. After several hours, Eggman finally had locked him up, the continous insulting grating on his nerves. Now Dylan was just sitting there, feeling of depression, weighing down on him.

"Man, I've been in here forever. What's going on? Who am I really? Am I ever ever getting out of here?

Just then, the floor beneath him began to shake and then blew up. Dylan backpedaled, holding his sword in what he thought was a attack position. "Who's there?! I warn you, I'm armed!" As the smoke cleared, he saw two certain figures standing in front of him. He lowered his sword once he saw who they were. "Sonic, you made it!" He ran forward and helped him and Tails out of the hole. "And Tails too!"

Tails was suprised. "He knows me Sonic!"

"Told ya he he would. Now then, are you okay?" "Yeah I'm fine. After insulting Eggman in every possible way, he locked me in here." Sonic chuckled. "Wish I coulda seen that. Okay then, Let's get outta here!"

"No, stay. I insist!"

A army of fighter mechs (Think Sonic the Hedgehog on Xbox) fell from the ceiling to surround the trio and Eggman appeared from behind one of the wrecked pillars, walking towards the group in his Egg Walker (From SA2 Battle). "It seems that a certain blue spiky rodent has stuck his nose where it doesn't belong. Well a hedgehog, to be precise. The Destined is mine until I find the secrets to his power." Eggman stated. "Well too bad, Egghead," Sonic said as he picked up Dylan, " 'Cause we're blowing this popsicle stand!" With that said, he took off down one of the hallways, with Tails right behind. "After them!" Eggman ordered and the army chased after the duo. Sonic and Tails were zig-zagging through the temple at break-neck speeds with the mech army in hot pursuit. Sonic was running almost flat-out, carrying Dylan, while Tails brought up the rear, throwing his special ring bombs at the pursuing mob, blowing up any mech that got too close. Eventually they ran out into a colliseum area with some wide-open space. Sonic set Dylan down and engaged the mechs along with Tails, striking them with rapid homing attacks while Tails used his bombs along with his Rapid Tails Attack. Dylan watched the fight in awe, his inner fanboy going wild at seeing seeing two video game heroes duke it out with the enemy. 'This is SO cool! I really wish I had a camera!' Then he noticed something bad: one of the mechs was about the attack Sonic from behind!

Dylan acted without thinking. Sword in hand, he charged at the mech shouting, "Hey bolts-for-brains!" The mech turned towards the noise to see Dylan charge at it and run it through. Sonic turned from destroying his last enemy to see a mech behind him, motionless. It then fell down, revealing a gaping hole in its chest area, and Dylan, looking down at it, sword stained with black oil. Dylan looked up at Sonic and said, "He was gonna hit you from behind. I just...acted." Sonic smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did. Thanks." "Sure." With the mechs down, Sonic, Dylan and Tails turned to see Eggman up in the stands.

"You are starting to annoy me, Sonic,"

"Coming from you, that's a compliment, Egghead."

"But now I have you right where I want you! COME OUT MY PET!" Eggman roared, and one of the collisium gates opened and a giant dog-like robot walked in to the arena.

"Egg Cerburus, KILL THAT HEDGEHOG!" Said beast roared and prepared to charge.

"Dylan, stay back!" yelled Sonic. "Tails!" Tails rans to Sonic's side. "Got it! Let's go!" and the two heros charged at the huge robot.


	3. Desert Battle and an Old Foe Returns

Author's Note: All right, Chapter 3 is up and running! What you think of the story so far. Please reply, I'd like some feedback on my work.

Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the characters I create.

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Chapter 3: Desert Battle and an Old Foe's Return

The robotic beast roared and charged.

Sonic and Tails split up and dodged its attack, then proceeded to try and do damage to it. Sonic was rapidly spinning into it while Tails threw bomb after bomb, but the huge dog-bot just shook off their attacks like it was nothing. It then started chasing after the duo, trying to chomp them with its metallic jaws. The two friends kept dodging and attacking, but their attempts to destroy the beast had no effect. "How do we beat this thing?!" yelled Sonic as he dodged the metal jaws. "I don't know, but we can't give up!" Tails replied as they ran around the arena, the robot in pursuit. Meanwhile in the stands, Eggman was having a ball. "That's right, my little pests. Run, run for your lives!" He crowed with glee as he laughed at his adversaries' predicament.

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Dylan watched the fight with apprehension. 'This isn't good. Sonic and Tails are trying their hardest, but that thing seems unbeatable.' Then he remembered something. 'Hang on, wasn't that thing a boss? Yeah, yeah it was! So it must have had a weak point. But where...' He cut off as he noticed a short pole attached to the dog-bot's head.'There! That's it!' He then started to wave his hands above his head frantically, trying to get Sonic's attention.

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Sonic noticed Dylan waving as he dodged another attack. 'What does Dylan want?' He thought as he ran over to where Dylan was.

"Hey, what's up?"

'That thing's weak point that's what! Listen, there's a pole thing on the robot's head. You grab it, you can control it!"

Sonic was puzzled. "What's that gonna do? That's not much of a..." He trailed off as the idea went through his head. 'Maybe...' Sonic snapped his fingers as he got the point. "Yeah, that could work! Thanks Dylan!" He said as he zoomed back to help Tails dodge another charge. "Where were you, Sonic?" asked Tails. "With Dylan. He told me how to beat this thing! Keep it occupied!" Tails nodded and took to the air, flying around the stadium. The beast chased after it while Sonic ran up its back to land on its head. "Hope this works." Sonic said as he grabbed the pole.

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Eggman was shouting out with joy. "Yes, YES! My pet is crushing them! They haven't a chance!" Then He noticed something was off. The robot, while in a middle of another charge, stopped in its tracks. "What? What's going on?! ATTACK!" HE looked closer at it and turned pale, Sonic was on its head grabbing the pole.

"NO! He found the manual override!"

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Sonic gave a mighty tug, and the robot turned and ran full speed...into the wall!

CRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The collision sent Sonic flying into the air, where he was caught by Tails. The robot gave one last roar before it fell to the ground, not moving. "YES!" Sonic and Tails cheered as they landed to see Dylan running up to them. "Wow, you guys did it!" "Heh, no problem." Sonic said with a smirk and thumbs-up. "Let's get outta here." said Tails. Both Sonic and Dylan agreed, and the three ran out of the arena.

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When they got outside, all three heard the sound of engines. They looked up to see a squad of fighter mechs heading towards them. "Doesn't that guy give up?" "Sadly, no." said Sonic. "What do we do? They just keep coming." "I have an idea." said Tails. "Let's split up. I'll draw their attention while you two get to safety."

Sonic nodded. "Okay, be careful, little bro."

"Leave it to me!" With that said, Tails took off, flying into the distance, the robots turning to follow.

Sonic picked up Dylan again. "Hang on tight, Dylan." "Okay." Then Sonic took off running, leaving behind a sonic boom where he had been.

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After they got out of the desert, the two entered a field close to a town. Sonic finally slowed down til he came to a stop. "There, that should be far enough." He set Dylan down and sat down for a breather.

Dylan sat down next to him. "Thanks again for rescuing me, Sonic."

"Don't mention it."

With that, the two got up and started walking. It was few minutes before Dylan broke the silence. "So Sonic, you were gonna tell about the Destined?"

"Huh?" said Sonic. "Oh, right. Well, I don't know the whole story but I know some of the main stuff. History isn't my strong point, but if I remember correctly, there was a huge battle between good and evil about 40 or so years ago. The evil side had a huge demon as their champion, while good had a human as their champion. The human wielded unimaginable power and strength in his battle against the demon. The battle was a deadlock for a while til somehow, Evil gained the upper hand. When all hope seemed lost, Good's champion put all his power into one huge attack that would seal away the demon for good. It worked, but at a price. Before he died, the champion said a prophacy: There would another hero after him who would wield the same power as he did, and he would be the one to lead the forces of Good to strike down Evil once more and become Good's champion. He was asked how they would know, he replyed, 'look to the sword'. After saying that, he died, and his closest friends, the heroes he fought alongside, gave him a hero's memorial."

Dylan nodded, taking in the information. "That explains why the sword is important." He then fell silent. Sonic looked up at him. "Dylan?" Dylan was looking down at the ground, his face looking sad and depressed. "I'm supposed to have power equal to the previous hero. I have none, none of it. I haven't even felt anything close to it. How can I help fight evil? What can I do?" he said, letting out a depressed sigh. Sonic walked over and took Dylan's hand. Dylan looked up. "Huh?" Sonic then started running, pulling Dylan behind him. "Sonic, stop! I can't run that fast!"

"Its okay, just raise your head and run!"

The two ran across the field for several minutes before Dylan finally collapsed. Sonic let go and said, "How do you feel?" Dylan sat up and looked at Sonic, breathing hard. "I'm okay, I just...I've never ran like that before. I'm tired out, yet strangely I feel...good." Sonic smiled "Nothing starts til you take action. if you have time to worry, then run!" Dylan found himself smiling. "Thanks. I'll remember that." "No problem, now let's head into town." Dylan nodded. "Okay."

With that said, the two friends walked towards town.

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When the two entered the town, Sonic looked around. "This must be Soleanna. It's been a while since I've been here." Dylan looked down at Sonic. "You remember the Solaris incident?" Sonic nodded. "Yeah. It's been while, though. Still, I think Elise remembers me." Sonic then came to an abrupt stop. "What is it, Sonic?" Suddenly, Sonic grabbed Dylan and jumped, and a red laser blast hit the spot where they had been. "What the hey?!" Sonic said, then they both heard a voice:

"Its been a while Sonic, my loathsome copy."

Both Sonic and Dylan looked up to see a small hedgehog-like form descend to the ground. It looked like Sonic, but it was a robot.

"Metal Sonic!" Dylan said, recognizing him. Sonic smirked. "Well, look who's back from the scrap heap!" Metal Sonic showed no sign of taking offense. "I have been waiting for you, hedgehog. At long last, I will finally destroy you for I am the true Sonic!"

"Bring it on, Bolt Breath!"

The two hedgehogs charged at each other.


	4. True Strength

Okay, number 4! I'm on a roll!

Disclaimer: I own only my own characters. Nothing else.

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Chapter 4: True Strength

The two hedgehogs charged at each other. Metal Sonic fired his arm-mounted laser cannon, but Sonic dodged the blast. Metal proceeded to use his claws to slice-and-dice his adversary, but Sonic dodged every strike, then jumped up and used homing attacks to repeatedly smash the metallic hedgehog into the ground. After the barrage, Sonic stood back and looked at the crushed bot. "You never learn, do you?" To the Blue Blur's surprise, MS (I'm referring to Metal Sonic as this. Takes too long to write.) got to his feet. He started glowing and the damage Sonic had inflicted repaired itself. "Actually, I do." Then MS zoomed forward before Sonic could retaliate and slammed into him with his own homing attack. Sonic flipped and landed on his feet. "I guess it's not gonna be that easy." He curled up and trying hitting MS with a Spin Dash, but MS calmly held out his hand and blocked his attack. "What?!" Sonic exclaimed, surprised at MS's power. "Did you think I wouldn't get stronger?" As he said that, he threw Sonic into a pillar. The battle looked to be in MS's favor. MS started to walk over. Sonic painfully got to his feet.

'Man, he gotten tougher. I really wish I had another method of attack.' Then something clicked in his mind. 'Wait, I DO have one!' MS aimed his laser at Sonic's head. "Any last words, Sonic?" Sonic smirked and pulled out the red Chaos Emerald. "Just two. SONIC WIND!!" MS, caught completely unprepared, was thrown against the far wall by the wave of energy. Sonic then yelled, "CHAOS CONTROL!" and zoomed forward, using his fists to give MS a dose of hedgehog fury. After the barrage, MS fell to the ground, obviously out of it. Dylan walked over to inspect Sonic's handiwork. "Nice. I forgot that I gave you that Emerald." Then they both heard a laugh and a voice, "Did you enjoy your walk, Destined?" Both spun around to see Eggman in his Eggmobile, hands extended. The craft swooped down and grabbed Dylan before Sonic could react. Sonic rushed forward to help his friend but MS, somehow still functional, grabbed Sonic's foot, stopping him.

"Dylan!" He yelled as Eggman started to fly upwards.

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Dylan struggled in the Eggmobile's hold, trying to get free. "Let me GO, you big piece of lard!" Eggman just laughed at Dylan's feeble attempt to free himself. "Struggle all you want, Destined. Nothing can break this grip!" After a few more tries, Dylan went limp with surrender. 'It's no use. I can't do it. What now?' Then something Sonic had said to him entered his mind:

_Nothing starts until you take action…_

Dylan's eyes widened with surprise, and then he smiled. 'Sonic's right. If I am to become strong, I have to take action!' With that, he wrenched his arms free, braced them against the Eggmobile's arms, and started pushing.

'Come on Dylan, put your back into it! Don't give up!'

Eggman watched his prisoner trying to push the arms apart. 'Doesn't the boy take a hint? I designed this machine myself! Nothing short of a bomb can stop those arms!' He laughed as he heard his boasts in his mind. 'This is surprisingly easy. At this point, nothing can go wro…' He cut off as a sound he didn't expect to hear reached his ears:

Creaking metal.

Sonic looked up as the Eggmobile ascended. 'Dang, he's getting away! And I can't do anything about it.' He thought as he looked down where MS gripped his foot. Then the sound of creaking metal made him look up to see something he didn't expect.

Dylan was still in the arms' grip, but he had started to glow. A purple aura was forming around him as he tried to push the arms apart, and somehow, he was succeeding.

Eggman was, to say the least, surprised. "What's going on?! This can't be happening!"

'Push, Dylan! PUSH!'

Dylan was glowing brightly as he slowly but surely forced the Eggmobile's arms apart. 'I can do it!' He put more force into it, making the arms creak even more.

"Stop that, you little pest. STOP!"

Ignoring Eggman's shouts, Dylan put the rest of his energy into one last shove, yelling:

"Get…OFF!"

The last shove did it. Metal shrieked as one of the arms was ripped out completely, hitting the ground with a crash. Dylan, exhausted from his effort, fell from the Mobile towards the ground.

Sonic quickly kicked MS in the face, breaking his grip, and zoomed toward Dylan and caught him before he hit the ground. MS got to his feet, aiming his laser to scorch Sonic's head, but he was tackled to the ground by a red blur, making his shot miss. The red blur formed into a short, red creature with red dreadlocks, a crescent-shaped patch of fur on its chest, red-and-yellow shoes, and huge spiked mitts for hands. It gave MS a good punch before running over to Sonic.

"You okay, Sonic?"

"I've felt better Knux."

The two looked up to see Eggman retreating with MS in tow. It was obvious that Eggman wasn't gonna stick around.

Tails came running up. "You okay, Sonic?" "I'm fine, bro, but Dylan's exhausted. Let's head somewhere safe."

Knuckles looked down at Dylan. "Tails filled me in. So this is the Destined?"

"Yep, and I think his powers are awakening. We'd better find a safe haven."

"We'll take him to Angel Island. He'll be safe there."

Sonic nodded, and the three left the scene.


	5. Training and a Rescue

Tales of Destiny: the Beginning

Chapter Five: Training and a Rescue

When Dylan woke up, he was in some sort of cave. Finding his sword beside him , he picked it up and walked outside. What he saw surprised him. He was in some kind of wilderness, the trees extremely tall as well as mushrooms two-thirds his size. Walking along, he noticed several different types of fruit that even he knew didn't all grow in the same place. After a couple minutes, he came across some kind of compound. 'Could it be Eggman's. Nah, it would have guards and he'd have his face painted across it for all to see.' He walked into a huge circular chamber with a foreign manuscript written on the walls. In the center was a HUGE green emerald. 'That sucker's huge. Wait, there's only one jewel that can be that big' Dylan thought. Then a voice spoke up.

"Yes, that's the Master Emerald."

Dylan jumped at least a foot before regaining composure and looking down to see Knuckles standing beside him. "Nice to meet you in person, Destined." Dylan calmed down. "Likewise, Knuckles, and its Dylan." The two shared a handshake. "I'm guessing we're on Angel Island?" "Correct. Me, Sonic and Tails brought you here because this is one place that Eggman can't get into."

"Alright."

"Also, now that you're awake, we need to unlock your powers."

Dylan was confused. "Elaborate please."

"Now that your power is manifesting, it will be easier to unlock it. Once it's unlocked, you'll be capable of feats you couldn't do before."

"Like super-strength?"

"Correct."

Dylan nodded. "Okay, so how do we do that?"

Knuckles smiled. "That will be easy. I will use the Master Emerald to unlock the energy within you. Once that happens, you will have powers not possible for a normal human to have." Dylan slowly nodded, taking in the information. "Don't worry. It won't hurt much, just at the start." Dylan was silent for a few moments, then said, "Okay, let's do it."

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Dylan was sitting cross-legged on top of the Master Emerald. Knuckles was standing on the floor next to him while Sonic and Tails were watching a few feet away. Knuckles looked up at Dylan and said, "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this."

Knuckles nodded and set his hands on the Emerald. "The servers are the seven Chaos, Chaos is power. Power is enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify the Chaos. Only you can do this! UNLOCK THE CHAOS WITHIN!" Knuckles finished as the Emerald started glowing. The glow slowly got brighter until the was a huge flash of light and the Emerald started changing colors like a kaliedoscope. Dylan then felt surging heat coursing through his body. It stayed like for a few moments before the heat slowly went away. After the few minutes, the Emerald returned to its green color. Dylan, realizing it was done, stepped down to the floor, wobbling a little. Sonic walked over and helped him keep steady.

"How do you feel?"

Dylan looked down at himself, stretching his body out to ease the stiffness, than looked at Sonic.

"I feel…I feel good."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dylan was surprised at his newfound abilities. He had gained strength as well as endurance.

"Whoa, what a rush! I guess I am the Destined!"

Nearby, Knuckles observed Dylan's actions. "Well done. You are getting stronger now that you are calling on your power. However, there is still something else."

Dylan stopped what he was doing. "What's that?"

"While your power is unlocked, you yourself are not at the level of the previous hero. You will need to train your abilities so that they will evolve and become stronger."

"That's a blow to the ego. Okay then, when do I start?"

"Almost immediately. Both Sonic and myself will do the honor of assisting you."

Dylan nodded. "Okay, let's do this."

---2 weeks later---

Dylan was looking out at Station Square below him. It was nice view, to say the least. He had gained some muscle from the training and was wearing his sword on his back in a sheath Tails made for him.

"You look bored, Dylan."

Dylan looked to see Sonic walking up. "Yeah, a little, but I'm also on edge. Eggman's been quiet for a week. After his first try to get me, it's as if he disappeared."

Knuckles and Tails joined them. "Don't worry you two. Odds are that the Doc has an alternate plan."

"He does."

The four turned to see an unlikely face. The face of a certain female bat. "Rouge!" Knuckles made to leap forward. Rouge just held a hand, palm out. "Calm down, lover-boy, I'm not here to fight." She turned to Dylan. "I don't play delivery-girl, but I was asked to give you this." She tossed a card to him. Dylan caught it and looked at it. On one side was Eggman's symbol. 'Figures.' He turned it over to the other side, making a holographic version of Eggman appear.

_"Greetings, Destined. If you're wondering why I sent you this, I had a back-up plan. _"Toldyou." Said Knuckles. _"As you may or may not know, the cunning warrior attacks neither body or mind. I made a mistake before, but I learned from it, and my plan…well, why don't I show you?"_

The hologram disappeared to be replaced by another. This one was of teenage girl around Dylan's age. She was in chains and was clearly terrified.

"_LET ME OUT OF HERE!"_

Dylan paled. "It can't be." He said softly. Sonic looked at his friend. 'He must know her.'

Eggman appeared again. _"Surrender yourself and any Chaos Emeralds that you have, and I will release your little girlfriend, that is, if you really care for her." _The projection disappeared. The card dropped from Dylan's shaking hands. Sonic was concerned. "You okay, Dylan?" Dylan was scared. 'How did he find her? He can't go between worlds. Or can he?' Dylan turned to Sonic. "Sonic, as a friend, I need your help." Sonic nodded. "I got your back, man." Tails turned to Rouge. "Why are you here anyway, Rouge." "I came to help. Special request from my boss."

"Does he…"

"Know about the Destined? Somewhat. The Destined had a connection to G.U.N. somehow. My assignment is to find out what this connection is. Right now that means helping you guys. There's also a second reason."

What's that?"

Rouge smiled a little "I wanted to."

Sonic nodded. "Okay then, off to our next adventure!"

With that, the group headed for the city.


	6. Rescue Mission

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Chapter 6: Rescue Mission

When the group reached the town, Rouge gave out the order:

"Alright, let's split up. Take note of anything related to Eggman."

The rest nodded and separated.

--20 minutes later—

Dylan was waiting back at the central plaza when Rouge showed up. "You all right?" Dylan looked up. "I'm okay. I'm just worried." "Don't worry. We'll find your friend." Then she looked in his eyes.

"Hmm…"

"What is it?"

Rouge shrugged. "Nothing really. You just have a strange resemblance to an old friend of mine, that's all." They both turned to watch what passed by and froze. It was Sonic and Knuckles, but they weren't the way they normally were. They were both wearing frilly dresses and make-up.

Dylan couldn't resist. He fell on the ground, laughing his head off. A moment later Rouge joined him in laughing. "SHUT IT!" yelled Knuckles, clearly in a bad mood. Both human and bat apologized as they helped relieve the two of the womanly garments.

"What happened to you guys?"

"Our fan-clubs."

Tails came flying up. "I found something!" The rest spun around. "What is it?" asked Sonic.

I found the girl Eggman has hostage! He's holding her at the terminal station!"

"All right! Let's go!"

Sonic grabbed Dylan and bolted for the station.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When they got there, both Sonic and Dylan looked around. They were in a deserted canyon area with lots of train tracks everywhere. Dylan slowly scanned the area, his mind thinking at a quick pace. "Hmm..." Dylan thought aloud. "If I were Eggman and I had a hostage, where would I put her?"

"Instead of speculating, why not I just tell you?"

Sonic and Dylan turned to see Eggman's floating television with Eggman on the screen. Dylan had his sword out, pointing it towrads the screen. "Where is she?"

"Look down."

Dylan looked down in time to see a sleak black train pass by. For a second, he could see the girl through the window. "Ok, Dr. Fatso. What's the catch?"

Eggman laughed. "The catch is you."

Dylan then felt something pick him up and start to rise upwards. He turned his head to a mech hauling him into the air.

"TARGET CAPTURED."

Dylan smirked and said, "Not this time."

With that said, he grabbed an arm and ripped it off, braking the mech's grip. He twisted around and slammed his fist into its head, busting it open. The mech fell to the ground, Dylan landing on his feet. He turned to see Sonic holding his own against several mechs at once. He ran towards the mob of mechs, his hand glowing with chaos energy, remembering his training.

--Flashback--

Dylan was listening to Knuckles's lecture on Power Chaos, the energy that he, Sonic, and others used for their abilities.

"It is hard to just use energy for an attack instantly. You need to focus that energy into parts of your body, like your legs for speed or arms for strength. The more you practice, the easier it will be to focus that energy. Remember that, Dylan. It could save your life someday."

--End Flashback--

Dylan's returned to the present, ready to use the knowledge and strength his training had given him. Focusing his energy, he shot it like a missile at the mech, yelling, "FIRE!" A fireball shot from his hand and impacted the mechs, wiping them out. Sonic ran up to him. "Not bad." "Thanks, now its time to catch a train."

Sonic nodded, picking up Dylan and taking off like a rocket. They caught up pretty quickly, but a fleet of mechs appeared out of hiding, guns blazing. Sonic dodged the bullets and prepared to attack, but Dylan stopped him. "Let me." With that, Dylan focused his energy and held his hand palm out rowards the mechs.

"TORNADO!"

A raging wind erupted from his hand, sweeping the mechs into each other to make a big explosion. "Nice one." remarked Sonic before leaping up onto the train.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sarah Richards was, to be perfectly blunt, scared out of her wits. She had stopped by Dylan's house to pay a visit, but found a shimmering blue portal hovering in the living room and a strange fat guy and several robots. She had been captured and, according to the fat guy, was to be used as bait to lure in the Destined, whoever that was.

'This place is scaring me. Someone help me, please!'

As if in answer to her plea, the door was busted down. A blue hedgehog ran in. After seeing her, he turned to the doorway and yelled. "She's in here!" Then someone she least expected ran in:

"DYLAN!"

Dylan ran over and freed her from her bonds. "I'll explain later, Sarah. Sonic, let's blow this joint!"

"You got it."

Sonic pulled out his emerald and yelled "CHAOS CONTROL!" and the three disappeared in a flash of light.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They reappeared farther down the track, in a construction area. Both Sarah and Dylan felt woozy from the trip. "You okay?" Dylan asked Sarah. "Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on?" "Long story short, a vortex sucked me into this world, and apparently I'm next big hero. You?"

"I went to your house to visit, but I found a strange portal in your living room and some fat scientist person waiting for me."

Sonic, listening in, was confused. "Last I checked, Egghead isn't capable of that. Something's up." Sarah looked down at Sonic. "Huh? Who are you?"

"Name's Sonic. Nice to meet ya."

Sarah was skeptical. "Yeah, right. And I'm guessing that that's Metal Sonic diving down on us." Both Sonic and Dylan spun around to see Metal almost on top of them. "DIE HEDGEHOG!" Metal yelled, aiming his laser cannon. Sonic grabbed Sarah and backpedaled while Dylan did a backflip to avoid the laser. Metal then leaped forward with surprising speed. Sonic passed Sarah to Dylan and charged. They collided and started fighting, Sonic using his spin attacks and speed and Metal using his claws.

"Enjoy your walk you two?"

Dylan and Sarah looked back for a moment before being captured by Eggman's Eggmobile. Sarah was scared but Dylan was calm. He braced his hands on the arms and started to push.

"Not this time, boy!"

Eggman pulled out a tazer and shocked Dylan with it, making him fall unconsious. "No!" yelled Sarah and she yelled to Sonic, "HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPP!" as they were taken.

"Dylan! Sarah!" Sonic shouted before being tackled to the ground by Metal. Metal aimed his laser at Sonic's head. "It's time to end this." As Metal prepared to fire, a shout was heard,

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

There was a flash of light, and a black blur slammed into Metal, knocking him off Sonic. A black hedgehog landed between them. He looked like Sonic, but his quills were tilted upwards, and his shoes had jets on them. Metal got to his feet and faced the new arrival. "Identify yourself." The hedgehog smirked.

"The name's Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."

Shadow turned to Sonic, who was getting up. He jerked his head in the direction Eggman had gone, as if to say, "Go on." Sonic nodded and gave him a thumbs-up, which he returned, and Sonic took off after Eggman. Shadow turned back to Metal, pulling out a white Chaos Emerald. "Let's go." he said, and charged.


	7. Captured

Disclaimer: I only own my characters nothing else.

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Chapter 7: Captured

High in the sky, Eggman held Dylan and Sarah prisoner aboard his airship. Sarah was scared, but Dylan was ticked off. 'Talk about persistent. This guy doesn't take no for an answer.' "You've wasted much of my time, Destined. Had you cooperated, I would not have had to resort to these measures."

"Spare me from your ranting, Eggman. Why me? Why am I so important? I should be allowed to know that much."

Eggman walked closer to Dylan, giving him an intimidate look. "You really don't know?" He turned back to his computer console and opened a file. "The power you wield is both rare and unique. It can take on multiple forms, yet it is chemically stable. It is a bountiful energy source, even by itself. It can destroy cities, level mountains, and even manipulate the time-space continuum itself. I wish to obtain this power and dominate everything in this and every other world. From one side of the continuum to the other side." Eggman revealed his evil intentions.

Sarah was confused. "You…wish to rule…everything?"

"Correct. Everything. And the secret…is dormant inside of you, Destined."

Eggman minimized the file and activated what looked like a tracker of some kind. There were several flashing dots on the radar. "Now, if you don't mind, Destined, I have business to attend to. My guards will escort you to the 'guest room'." Two mechs grabbed Dylan's arms and half-walked, half-carried Dylan out the door to the prison cells. Two more mechs brought up the rear, guns trained on Dylan to make sure he didn't get ideas.

Sarah turned to Eggman. "Why only him?"

Eggman laughed. "You, unlike him, don't have such power, and therefore not worth the trouble." Sarah's eye twitched at the veiled insult.

Dylan's mind was racing as the mechs brought him towards the prison cells. 'This answers some questions and asks some more, but that's not important right now. I gotta get myself and Sarah outta here.' One mech opened a door and said.

"GO INSIDE, HUMAN."

Dylan stepped towards the cell, then turned around. "Before I do, can I say something first?" The mechs looked at each other, then nodded to Dylan. Dylan gave small nod in return, then quickly turned pale and and yelled. "HOLY FREAKING CRAP! EGGMAN'S GOT A GUN!" All four mechs immediately turned around at the sound of their creator's name. Dylan seized his chance,

"LIGHTNING!"

Lightning leapt from his fingertips and hit the mechs, frying their circuits. As one, they fell to the ground.

'Wow, it actually worked.' Dylan thought to himself before bolting down the hallway.

'Hang on Sarah, I'm on my way! Eggman better watch out!'

Eggman was making adjustments to his Egg Walker when the alarm went off. "What now?" he groaned as he turned towards the computer console. He pressed a button and the prison cells came on screen. He look one look at the scene, seemingly unphased. 'It's as I thought. He couldn't be held for long by those mechs. I'll just wait until he finds his way back here, and then I'll spring my trap. I've been waiting to use this one in particular.' He chuckled sinisterly to himself and started to make preparations.

'If everything goes according to plan, I will be able to get the key to the Destined's powers and get rid of him afterwards. I will win in the end!'

It didn't take long for Dylan to find his way back. In addition to strength he had gained speed from his power awakening. He wasn't fast like Sonic, but he could keep up with him without too much trouble. When he got back to the control room, it was empty. 'That's strange. It was full before.' Then his instincts suddenly told him to jump. He jumped upwards, narrowly dodging a missile. He spun around to see Eggman in his Egg Walker, its guns aimed at him.

"That was a mistake, Fat-man."

A tick mark appeared on Eggman's forehead. "Mistake?! Hardly! I have you right where I want you!" Wth that, Eggman opened fire. Dylan easily dodged the missiles and charged forward. He concentrated energy into his sword and swung. The sword sliced off one of the legs and the Walker toppled over. Dylan calmly walked up to Eggman, who was quickly getting up, and pointed the tip of his sword at Eggman's huge gut. "You were saying?" Eggman tried to escape, but Dylan quickly grabbed him and threw him towards the wall. "Not this time, Fatty." Dylan's turned his head toward Sarah, who was freeing herself from her bonds. "You alright?"

Sarah nodded. "A little shaken, but I'm OK."

Dylan nodded. "Then let's blow this joint." He said as he walked towards her. Suddenly Eggman snatched Dylan's sword, ran back to his console and hit a button. A capsule appeared under Dylan and trapped him. "HAHAHAHAHA! Like I said, you're right where I want you!" Dylan spun around. Eggman was giddy because of what he was about to do. "Time for you to take a ride! When that capsule clears the ship,"

Eggman clapped his hands together. "BAM!"

Dylan's eye widened. "Now you want to kill me?! What about my power?!"

Eggman held up the sword. "This is all I need." He hit a button. "Farewell, Destined!"

The capsule was launched out of the ship.

Dylan was freaking out. 'I'M GONNA DIE! I'M GONNA DIE!' Then he remembered what Eggman had said about his power.

_It can take on multiple forms, yet it is chemically stable. It is a bountiful energy source, even by itself. It can destroy cities, level mountains, and even manipulate the time-space continuum itself._

'Wait,' thought Dylan. 'If what Eggman said is true, then that means...' Dylan got to his feet and pulled out a Chaos Emerald, a blue one to be precise. 'Thnak you, Tails. You're are a lifesaver.'

FLASHBACK

Before they left Angel Island, Tails gave Dylan a blue Emerald. "Take this Dylan. It might came in handy."

END

Dylan smiled to himself. 'Well, it came in handy.' Dylan then raised the Emerald over and yelled out words that were drowned out by the explosion of the capsule and vanished in a flash of light.

Sarah was in tears because of her friend's "death." Eggman was jumping for joy. "YES YES YES! I have both the ultimate power and got rid of the source! Nothing can change things now!" Right then the alarm went off. "Now why did I say that?" Eggman checked the computer for the problem. "One the engines is malfunctioning?" Then there was a thunderous explosion, and the engine in question blew up. "NO! This can't be happening! We're about to crash!" Then he heard a voice.

"Playtime is OVER, Eggman!"


	8. Dylan's Power

Disclaimer: I only own my characters nothing else.

Sorry I'm so late updating. College takes a LOT out of your free time. Anyway, on to the next chapter!

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Chapter 8: Dylan's Power

"Playtime is OVER, Eggman!

Eggman spun around to see a certain blue hedgehog standing in the doorway, a cocky grin on his face. Sarah quickly ran behind him for protection. Sonic looked around.

"Looks like this ship is going down. Too bad, Egghead. You must HATE having to build these over and over." Eggman was surprised, then outraged. "How did you find me!? I took every precaution for this."

"Translation: You did nothing hoping I wouldn't notice."

Eggman was freaking out. "I can't lose! YOU WON'T GET ME!" With those words, he ran into the hall in an ungainly fashion. (Those of you who played the old Genesis games will know what I mean.)

Sarah was confused. "Why does he run like that?"

Sonic shrugged. "Beats me. I never gave it much thought." He quickly turned serious. "Come on. Let's go." He picked up Sarah and ran after Eggman.

Eggman was running for his life. 'Why am I always doing this? I'm always the one running away.' He reached the hangar, searching for a mode of escape. 'Come on Come ON!' He got to the end and saw it.

His Eggmobile, fueled and ready for anything. Including an escape. 'YES! Homefree!' He ran for the craft, but was stopped short by a kick to the face, courtesy of a figure from the shadows.

"Are we going somewhere Doctor?"

Eggman looked up and wished he didn't. "Shadow!? You too!?"

Shadow smirked, calmly tossed his Emerald up and down in his hands. "Of course. How you think Sonic got here?" The hedgehog in question showed up, Sarah in tow. "Yeah, Eggy. I don't do EVERYTHING alone. You should know that."

Eggman got his feet, silent. Then he started laughing. The two hogs looked at each other, both somewhat confused. "Well, this isn't a total loss. I did get rid of one nuisance." He held up Dylan's sword.

"Look familiar?"

Sonic was stunned. "Where is he?!"

"At the moment? Everywhere."

Sonic couldn't believe it. "No way!"

Eggman smiled. "It's true. Too bad. He was so young." He turned serious. "Now to get rid of you, my spiky rodent friend." He snapped his fingers.

A mass of mechs entered the room from all sides. Sonic and Shadow both prepared to fight.

Eggman gave the command. "DESTROY THEM!"

All the mechs prepared to fire.

But they never got the chance.

"SHOCKWAVE!"

A pulse of energy swept over them like a wave, shocking them. In waves, they fell to the floor.

Everyone turned to see a certain figure stepping out of the shadows, a purple glow surrounding him.

"And another robot army bites the dust."

It was Dylan.

Sarah cried out in joy, ran over and hugged her friend. Dylan, unprepared for it, awkwardly hugged her back, a tiny blush on his face. He then turned to Eggman, with a smirk on his face.

"Looks like you lost, Eggy. Even against a 15-year-old you can't win. You must be so humiliated right now." Eggman began throwing a temper tantrum, which made him look like a big, fat baby. "I'm not finished yet! I still have one more trick up my sleeve!" Eggman proclaimed. He pulled out a remote and pressed a button. A cargo door opened up, revealing a giant mech partially hidden in a shadow. Eggman bolted towards it and got in the cockpit, powering it up. It hovered out the door to front of the heroes, ready to strike.

"BEHOLD, THE EGG EMPEROR! VERSION 2.0!"

Dylan's jaw dropped. This new bot made the previous seem like a little toy.

"I was saving this for Sonic, but you'll do just fine as a test target, Destined!"

Sonic leapt forward to help, but he was forced back by some unseen force. "Uh-uh, Sonic. No helping the victim. Some goes for Shadow. This is impervious to Chaos Control!"

The bot turned to Dylan, who was gripping his sword, standing his ground. Eggman laughed. "There no one to protect you now Destined. It is time to put an end to this."

"For once we agree. You're going down!"

Several holes on the mach opened up and started glowing. "Lasers fire!" The Emperor fired several lasers at Dylan, who was leaping sideways to avoid them. He dodged most of them but one grazed his left shoulder. He grimaced from the pain, but kept moving.

"You think you can defeat me boy? Please, you're nothing but a child who always gets kidnapped!"

"No way! I'm a hero, Fat-meister!"

"Then prove it!"

At that, Dylan leapt forward and swung his sword, but was swatted like an insect by the shield. He leapt to his feet and threw out his hands.

"AQUA BLAST!"

A huge fount of water erupted from his hands, soaking the Emperor. Dylan quickly followed up with another strike.

"LIGHTNING!"

Several bolts leapt from his fingers. The sparks were like a 4th of July times 10. Dylan had to shield his eyes. When he opened them again, he was shocked. Eggman wasn't even fazed.

"No dice, Destined."

The mech then released a surge of electricity that struck Dylan, making him hit the floor in pain. The Emperor aimed its lance.

"It's as I thought. You only can use that much. I was stupid to expect more."

Dylan wearily got to his feet.

"Now to finish this. Good bye Destined!"

The lance rose then fell.

The wave of energy engulfed Dylan; there was a flash of light…

And Dylan was gone. As if he had disappeared.

"NO!" cried Sarah.

Eggman was giddy. "Finally, I have won!" Then all of them heard a shout,

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

There were two more flashes, and the Emperor's arms fell to the ground, sliced off. There was another flash of light and Dylan appeared, the blue Chaos Emerald in his hands.

Eggman was stunned. "WHAT…HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?"

Dylan smiled "Chaos Control, dude. It's the only way to travel."

Sonic was surprised. "He can use Chaos Control!?"

Shadow nodded. "So it seems."

Eggman was, to say the least, really ticked off. "This is impossible! Who gave you that power?!"

Dylan chuckled. "You did, Egghead. Remember that little lecture you gave me? It gave me enough understanding of my energy to control and use it." He turned serious. "Now it time to end this."

Everyone noticed Dylan stop moving. He then started to glow red that kept increasing as he focused.

Shadow was puzzled about what Dylan was doing, and then his eyes widened as it hit him. He quickly grabbed Sonic and Sarah and leapt behind a shipping crate for protection.

Dylan focused a little more, then released.

"CHAOS BLAST!"

All the energy Dylan had focused was released in one burst, making a huge explosion, engulfing the Egg Emperor. When Sarah and the two hedgehogs' eyes cleared, they saw Dylan standing by the wrecked Egg Emperor. Eggman was crawling out of the wreckage, fuming.

Dylan walked up. "Not bad, huh?"

Sonic shrugged. "Eh, not bad."

Shadow was unimpressed. "Not bad…for an amateur."

It was then that Eggman made his move. He pulled out a laser gun from nowhere and aimed it at Dylan, ready to fire.

"Move and get blasted!"

Dylan sighed and lazily pointed at the gun. The gun disappeared as if it teleported.

"Enough is enough, dude. Sonic, what say we get outta here."

Sonic smirked. "You bet! Shadow, would you mind?"

Shadow nodded and pulled out his Emerald. "CHAOS CONTROL!"

The quintet disappeared, leaving Eggman to his misery at losing again.


	9. Explanations and Surprises

Disclaimer: I only own my characters nothing else.

Here's the next one. By now an explanation is the best thing to do!

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Chapter 9: Explanations and Surprises

The plain of Mobius was a sight to see. The grass and plant life swaying with the wind and the blue sky with a few clouds here and there was like a painting brought to life. The resident wildlife, however, were in their homes. A black hole had appeared on the ground just moments before the sun had reached its highest point but surprisingly wasn't drawing anything in.

A few minutes later it disappeared, leaving a mysterious figure behind. The being looked around, as if to get his bearings.

"I'm alive? Ha-ha! I AM alive! Finally, it has been too long since I have been able walk amongst this planet." He reached into the cloak that he wore, pulling out a Chaos Emerald, sky-blue colored. "It is as the master told me, this gem along with the others in the set, contains a great power, the power to do anything, even bring back the dead!" He calmed himself. "However, one will not be enough. I must have them all to achieve my plan." He smiled an evil smile. "The time has come! Evil will once again rule, as it did so many years ago!" He gave out an evil chilling laugh and then disappeared in a flash of light, though his laugh lingered in echoes for some time afterwards.

"You sure I'm supposed to come here?"

A tick mark of annoyance appeared on Shadow's head. He was beginning to have second doubts about Dylan being the Destined. 'Why in the world is he the one? He's a kid!' Rouge stepped in before Shadow could think up a reason to remove Dylan from the picture.

"Yes, Dylan. Commander's orders. I'm supposed to bring you to G.U.N. headquarters pronto."

Dylan, Sarah, Shadow, Sonic and Rouge were walking up the front walk of G.U.N.'s headquarters. Tails and Knuckles had left already, their reason being to do more research on the hero before Dylan. Sonic had stuck around mainly as a companion for Dylan.

"I don't see what deal is, Rouge. Why does the guy need to see Dylan so badly?"

Rouge sighed. "Don't ask me, he didn't say much. All he told was that it was vital to find him. He has connections to G.U.N. somehow, similar to that of Shadow and the ARK."

At this, Shadow perked up. 'The ARK? As well as me? Who IS this kid?'

When they got inside, it became somewhat routine. Shadow and Rouge showed their G.U.N. IDs and the quintet entered into what looked like a waiting room, with several rows of seat and a desk with a computer up against the far wall.

Rouge walked to one of the doors on the left side. "I'll back in a second. Wait here." She walked through the door.

Shadow and Sarah both sat down in chairs, both anxious for different reasons.

'This kid seems harmless, but I can sense that he has a great store of cosmic energy he hasn't tapped into yet. Why him? Why a human?'

'This is all getting freaky. What's so special about Dylan? I hope this Commander person can fill the blanks.'

Dylan calmly walked over to the computer and brought up the Internet.

"Whatcha doing Dylan?"

Dylan turned to Sonic. "Just gonna look at something to past the time, but now that I'm thinking about it, wanna look at some fan art of you?"

Sonic pulled up a chair next to Dylan. "Of me? Awesome!"

--5 minutes later—

Shadow was curious. What were Sonic and Dylan so interested in? He walked up to them.

"What are you two doing?"

Sonic turned to Shadow. "Check it out, Shadow! I look so cool!"

Shadow looked at the screen. There were several pictures of Sonic in different poses. Shadow shrugged. "What about me?"

Dylan nodded. "Okay." He typed in a search for Shadow pictures and hit Enter.

There was silence. Then both Sonic and Dylan started laughing their heads off.

Shadow was ticked. "HEY! I AM **NOT** THAT EMO!"

Dylan stopped laughing enough to say, "Dude, that's not what they think."

Both hog and human were saving from feeling the Ultimate's wrath when the door opened. Everyone turned to see a decorated officer walk in. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know who he was.

He stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Greetings, Destined."

Dylan walked up to him and shook his hand. "Thanks, Commander, and it's Dylan. Dylan Mitchell."

"Just call me the Commander. It what everyone calls me, and it works for them."

Dylan nodded. "I'm hoping you have some answers, because I have a LOT of questions."

"I was thinking you knew, but that can be dealt with. First we must…"

Before he could finish, a soldier hurried in, snapping off a quick salute.

"Commander! There are two people here who request an immediate audience."

The Commander was not really happy. "I don't do charity visits to anyone who walks in the door.

"But sir, one has a G.U.N. ID as well as a pass to our data network!"

The Commander was surprised, then irritated. "Bring them in now."

The soldier saluted and left the way he came. A few seconds later, two people walked in. Dylan was surprised, then overjoyed and ran towards them.

"MOM! DAD!"

Dylan's mother smiled as she received a hug from her son. Dylan's dad smile held relief, mostly from knowing his son was safe.

"How you get here? I was worried that you'd be tearing down the neighborhood looking for me."

Dylan's dad grinned. "Thank your mom, Dylan. We got home to find a weird portal thing in the living room and she immediately knew you were here. I came along for the ride."

Dylan looked at his mom. "Mom?"

Dylan's mom had a sad smile. "Honey, there is something you should know. I am…"

Before she could finish, there was a shout.

"HA! I knew it!"

Everyone turned to see Rouge walk in, a grin on her face. "I knew that there was something familiar about him. He is definitely your son!"

"Rouge!"

"Melissa!"

Dylan's mom reached out and hugged the bat.

"It's so good to see you again!"

"Likewise, hon!"

The two broke the hug and looked over at Dylan, who looked really confused.

"Am I missing something here?"

"You haven't told him?"

"I was, but you came in."

The Commander smiled. "Well, this is a sight to see. It's certainly been a while."

Melissa stood up and snapped to a salute. "Special Agent Melissa Mitchell reporting for duty, sir."

"Say WHAT!?"

Both people turned to see Dylan, his facial expression going from confusion to just plain freaking out.

The Commander chuckled. "Maybe we should explain some things to your son, so he doesn't go insane.

"Yeah, good idea."

--

The group was in the mess hall, chilidogs for Sonic and Dylan, hamburgers for everyone else. Everyone was eating while the Commander and Dylan's parents, Melissa and Ryan, explained everything to Dylan, who had earlier filled them in on earlier events.

"So what you're saying is this: Mom is from here, from Mobius."

Melissa nodded.

"But you raised me on Earth, knowing that I would come here someday."

"Yes, though we didn't know it would be this way." Said the Commander.

Dylan nodded. "And you were going to tell this when?"

"We had agreed to tell you when you were 18, son." Said Ryan, "However, apparently somebody else had other ideas. We're not blaming you, Dylan, just saying."

Dylan nodded again, staying silent. He then turned to Ryan, as if to ask a question.

Ryan beat him to it. "Your mom told me before we were married. She didn't want me in the dark. That didn't stop me from loving her."

Dylan smiled at that statement. He felt better knowing that his parents truly loved one another.

"So what exactly am I here for, anyway."

The Commander took this one. "This might sound cliché, but you are the Hero. Don't ask what I mean by it, because I don't know myself. What I do know is that now that the Soul Sword, the sword you carry, has returned, and with that, the worlds rejoining again."

"Worlds? You mean there are more?"

"Yes. They've been around for a long time, longer than the games that they are based on, and for years, they have been separate. Now they can be rejoined like they were many years ago."

"How?"

"That's where you come in, Dylan." Said Melissa, "The Soul Sword was forged from energy from the Hero himself. Only his heir to the title of Hero will be able to use its power. It's chosen you as the heir."

Dylan was reminded of the legend Sonic had told him earlier.

'Look to the sword. So that's what it meant.' "But I'm not an army. I'm not much of a fighter."

Melissa smiled. "Not now, but your power is still developing. As it develops, you will be able to do thing you've only dreamed of. Besides, you won't be alone. The Hero had many allies, heroes only a little lesser than he was. You already have one ally: a certain blue hedgehog."

Dylan looked at Sonic, who gave him a thumbs up. His mouth was full of chili dog at that moment. "You will gain many more as you reunite."

Sarah raised her hand. "What about me?"

"I'm not sure, but I suggest that if you want to help, keep being a friend to Dylan. He might need the support now and then from someone he is close to." Sarah smiled with a small blush on her face.

Dylan smiled, getting to his feet. "Alright then, how do I reunite the worlds?"

The Commander stood up. "Follow me."

--

A few minutes later, the Commander, Dylan, Mellissa, and Sonic were in a safehouse at the side of the base. They were look at a certain part of the wall which had a circular indentation on it. Dylan could feel a small tingling sensation.

"This spot was the previous spot of the portal to other worlds. As you can see it's not there anymore."

"So what do we do?" Said Sonic.

Suddenly, the sword, currently sheathed on Dylan's back, started glowing. Dylan, surprised, drew it out. He started walking forward, sword in front of him.

"What are you doing, man?"

Dylan looked sideways at Sonic. "I'll let you know as soon as I find out."

As soon at the tip touched the marking, a huge flash of light lit up the room. Every one shielded their eyes except Dylan, who stood mesmerized as the marking started moving, taking shape. When the light died down, everyone could see a blue portal in the wall, subtly changing between different shades of blue.

"Okay, so it's open. Now what?"

"You'll need to travel to the other worlds and open the portals in each. Once you do, the world will once again be united as they should be."

Dylan sighed and nodded. "Okay."

Sonic stepped forward. "Mind taking a hitchhiker? Don't wanna lose sleep over what happens to you."

Dylan smiled. "I was hoping you'd come." Then he turned to Melissa. "Mom, I'll back soon."

Melissa nodded, smiling. "Be careful, honey."

Dylan put on a smirk similar to Sonic's. "Don't worry, it's the bad guys who should be careful. Here where all that video game knowledge is put to use!"

He then leaped though the portal, which Sonic close behind.


	10. Two Plumbers and a Disgruntled Koopa

Disclaimer: I only own my characters nothing else.

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Chapter 10: Two Plumbers and a disgruntled Koopa

Dylan and Sonic landed in a lush plain, far as the eye could see. As they both stood up to get their bearings, the portal closed behind them.

"What the…what gives? Why did it close?

Dylan was calm. "Mom said there was a portal in each world. I guess the trip here was one way."

"Then what do we do?"

Dylan turned to Sonic. "Simple. We just find the portal in this world. Then this world and Mobius will connect and we can return there if necessary."

Sonic smiled. "Works for me. Let's go!"

Dylan was able to grab him before he took off running. "NO. We're taking it slow. We don't where we are yet, and until we do, we can't take chances."

Sonic was disappointed, but saw the point. "Okay. How slow?"

"My speed. I can't run as fast as you, so we improvise."

"Got it!"

The two took off running, though with Sonic at a slower pace than normal so Dylan could keep up.

--

"This bites." Said Sonic as they were resting at the top of a hill.

Dylan nodded. "I have to agree. This is taking longer than I thought."

He stood up to look around, and then stopped.

"What's up?"

Then Sonic noticed what Dylan was looking at.

Not too far from where they were was a stadium. Not a big one, but it was sizeable. The one thing they noticed was the strip of pavement in the center that twisted and turned. It was obvious what it was.

"A race course! Finally, something fun!" exclaimed Sonic. "Let's take a look!"

"Okay. Good idea."

Sonic picked up Dylan and ran towards the stadium.

After finding a place on the roof, so they wouldn't attract attention, Sonic looked at the track, studying it.

"Not much of a racetrack. Where do you think we are, Dylan?"

Dylan was looking at the stands. "I think we're about to find out."

Just then two clouds raced by, nearly knocking them off their perch. Dylan looked at the clouds and his eyes widened.

"Are those…Lakitus?!"

The Lakitus lowered themselves down to the crowd's level, one with a microphone, one with a camera.

"Good afternoon, Kart fans, and welcome to the 20th annual Mario Grand Prix. I am Lakimichael and I will be your host. Let's go to the action!"

They turned toward the track where two race cars were making last-minute checks. The first car was red with flames on the sides. The two people were wearing overalls, but one was shorter with red, and the other was tall with green.

"First up, driving in Red Fire, the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi! GIVE IT UP FOR THE MARIO BROTHERS!"

The crowd cheered as the two plumbers waved to the crowd. Dylan was smiling.

"That's Mario! And Luigi, too!"

Sonic turned toward Dylan. "They're the heroes here?"

"Yep, and Mario's considered your rival in the gaming world."

Sonic smiled. "Really? That's something."

The two Lakitus turned towards the other car. It didn't have flames, but it was a little bigger and colored purple. The two people were like the Mario brothers, but were wearing different colors and looked more sinister.

Second, driving in Brute, the two partners in mischief and crime, Wario and Waluigi, the Wario Brothers."

Wario did the peace sign with both hands and laughed. The crowd was booing. Waluigi was less than happy at the crowds response.

"Those are Wario and Waluigi. They're to Mario and Luigi as Shadow is to you."

"Friendly rivals?"

"I wouldn't say 'friendly', but yeah."

Lakimichael turned to a balcony above the crowd. "And now please give a hand to our beloved monarch, Princess Peach!"

The crowd cheered as the princess in question waved to her subjects.

"And that is Princess Peach. Most of Mario's time is spent rescuing her from bad guys."

"Huh. No surprise there. The hero has to have a girl to rescue."

Dylan looked slyly at Sonic. "Like you and Amy?"

Sonic's head jerked towards Dylan. "Dude! Not funny!"

"Sorry."

"Without further ado," Lakimichael said. "let's get this race under way."

A third lakitu with a traffic light lowered down so that the racers could clearly see him. The three orbs lit up red one at a time. They then turned green, signaling the beginning of the race.

The two cars took off like thunder, roaring down the track, tires screeching as they went through the curves. Sonic was trying to keep from jumping up and down.

"This is one cool race! I wish I could get in it!"

Dylan sighed. "You'd blow'em away without even trying. The Wario Brothers would deserve it but this is between those two. Let them be."

"Then what are we going to do?"

"We'll wait until after the race. Then we'll go meet them."

Sonic nodded. "Okay."

The race was heating up. Neither team was slowing down, even in the turns. Every time one team got ahead, the other attacked using either a Shell or Lightning. It was a major deadlock, and the race was almost over.

"This is one intense race, folks!" said Lakimichael. "Neither team is letting up a bit! Both are trading the lead as they approach the finish!"

However, as the two cars were speeding towards the line, something was happening ahead. A Bob-omb dropped from the sky just in front of the finish line. Soon after, another fell, followed by another. In a matter of seconds, eleven Bob-ombs had fallen to the track.

The two karts tried to stop, but at the speed they were going it was impossible to stop in time. They collided with the Bob-ombs, causing an explosion that sent them all into the air. Wario and Waluigi flew farther than Mario and Luigi, out of the stadium and out of sight.

Dylan and Sonic were both on their feet. "What just happened?!"

"I don't know but I think I know who's behind it."

Sonic turned to Dylan. "Who?"

Dylan pointed towards the horizon.

A silhouette was making its way down to the track. As it got closer, it was revealed to be a clown vehicle. Once it reached the ground, a figure jumped out of it. It looked like a turtle with horns with spikes on its shell. A little witch-like figure came beside it on its flying broomstick.

It started to speak. "Presenting the King of Koopas and soon to be ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser the Koopa King!"

Dylan groaned. "Ah, great."

Sonic got to his feet. "Let me guess. That's the bad guy."

"Yeah. That's Bowser. He's a turtle with horns that can breathe fire. The witch-guy is Kamek. He has magic."

Bowser laughed as the crowd booed him. "Thank you! It is great to be here again!

He turned towards Mario, who was eyeing him angrily. "Hello again, my little plumber friend. Sorry to crash your little party, but today is the day that I take what is rightfully mine: The Mushroom Kingdom!"

Mario got ready to fight, but Bowser held up a claw-like hand. "I wouldn't do that Mario. Not unless you want the Princess to change her look, literally!"

During Bowser's speech, Kamek had flown up to beside Princess Peach, aiming his wand at her.

"Surrender, or the Princess becomes a Goomba!"

Mario was crushed. Bowser had him trapped.

Dylan was on his feet. "That's it! We're getting in there!"

Sonic looked at Dylan. "What about the plan?"

"The plan changed when Bowser entered the picture. Go save the princess. I'll help Mario."

Sonic gave a thumbs-up. "Got it!"

Sonic bolted towards Kamek while Dylan ran towards Bowser.

Bowser was knocking around Mario like a rag doll, enjoying the fact that Mario couldn't fight back. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen. But I knew I'd win eventually. It's over Mario! I've won!"

Kamek was laughing. "Finish him off Your Evilness!"

Then he was hit by a blue blur and knocked into the sky.

"I'm flying! WHEEEE!"

Bowser, having heard Kamek, looked around. "Kamek!? Where did you go!?"

"FIRE!"

Bowser was hit by a huge fireball, slamming him into the wall.

Dylan ran up to Mario and helped him to his feet.

"You all right?"

"Uh-huh! Thank you for a the save!"

"No problem. The Princess is safe too. Sonic saw to that."

Then both jumped when a roar sounded through the stadium. Bowser stomped out of the smoke, very ticked off.

"That's it, Mario! You've been a thorn in my side for far too long! That is the last fireball you'll ever throw!"

Mario shook his head. "That a wasn't me."

Dylan pointed to himself. "It was me, moron."

Bowser stared, then laughed. "HAHAHAHA! A human!? And I suppose he knows my plan too?!

Dylan calmly said, "You want to kidnap the princess."

Bowser's laughter stopped abruptly. "HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?!"

Mario did an anime fall while Dylan sighed, shaking his head.

"No matter. You've annoyed me for the last time! It is time that I taught you, my dear mushroom-eating enemy, along with your little friend, that no one annoys me and live to talk about it.

Dylan laughed. "And I suppose that you think we're supposed to be scared?"

"Oh, you don't think I can, human?! Allow me to prove you wrong! IT'S GO TIME!"

Dylan and Mario both prepared to fight as Bowser charged towards them, intent on crushing them both with one swipe.


	11. Enter Giga Bowser!

Disclaimer: I only own my characters nothing else.

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Chapter 11: Enter Giga Bowser!

Bowser had just recovered from one of Mario's attacks and landed on the ground. As soon as he landed, he began to shoot fire at Mario and Dylan. Mario did a few acrobatic jumps over the fireballs and towards Bowser. Dylan dodged the fireballs too, but he had a harder time.

As soon as he was close enough, Mario punched Bowser in the face as hard as he could. Dylan followed with powerful kick with both feet. Bowser was knocked backwards. He landed on his stomach and slid several feet across the pavement.

Dylan grabbed Mario and spun in place, every revolution a little faster. He then threw Mario at Bowser, who flew like a bullet to connect with Bowser headfirst.

Bowser surprisingly dodged the attack, grabbing Mario as he passed, slamming him into the ground a few times.

Dylan charged, sword swinging. Bowser slashed at him with his claws, but Dylan was able to block with his sword. They clashed for several minutes before Dylan saw an opening.

"FIRE!"

Dylan threw a fireball, but this time Bowser was ready for it. Bowser inhaled and shot another fireball. Both balls made a huge explosion. Dylan was knocked back and Bowser quickly grabbed him, but Mario knocked him on the head with his hammer, releasing his grip. Dylan charged energy into his fist and let it fly.

WHAM!

Bowser hit the wall, looking K.O.ed.

Mario and Dylan both landed well. The crowd with was cheering Mario's name.

Bowser jumped out of the smoke to land in front of the two. He laughed.

"I must give you credit, Mario. You've gotten stronger since our last battle. The human isn't too shabby either."

Mario smiled. "Of a course!"

Dylan simply smirked.

Bowser turned serious. "But now playtime is over. It's time to take this up a notch."

Bowser pulled out a mushroom, slightly bigger than normal. Dylan could sense a great energy coming from it.

'Uh oh. That's not good.'

Bowser ate the mushroom in one bite.

Bowser began glowing. He started to grow, his spikes and horns getting longer. He finally became to size of a castle.

"My goodness!" yelled Lakimichael. "Bowser's transformed!?"

Indeed he had.

Bowser roared, shaking the whole stadium. "YEEEEAAAAAHHHH!! How do ya like me now!?" he asked. "Say hello to Giga Bowser! And goodbye to your worthless existence!"

Bowser suddenly fired a huge blast of fire without having to charge it up. Mario and Dylan were both caught off guard and just barely jumped out of the way. Bowser was still ready to attack, though. He fired more fireballs at the two heroes. Dylan had the most trouble; His Aqua Blast was too weak to stop the raging flames and several times he nearly caught fire. Mario helped him dodge as best he could.

Mario and Dylan both landed on their feet, barely. Mario pulled out a flower and tossed it to Dylan. "Eat this!"

Dylan caught it, unsure. But thought 'what the heck' and ate it. He felt a surged heat within him and his body became encased in flames. He had become Fire Dylan.

Dylan instantly knew the deal. He began to charge another fireball, focusing more than usual. The fireball grew until it was three times his size. He then threw it at Bowser. It connected with a huge explosion.

Mario jumped in the air yelling "Yippee!"

Dylan did the "rock on" sign with both hands. "YES!"

But the fight wasn't over yet.

Bowser emerged from the smoke, not a scratch on him.

"HAHAHA! PATHETIC! That little fireball is useless against me now!

Bowser inhaled greatly.

"THIS is how it's done! Prepare to be schooled!"

He spat a beam of fire at the heroes. Both were unable to avoid the blast. Both hit the ground, Dylan losing his Fire power.

"Now it is time to finish this. ADIOS MARIO!"

Dylan wearily got to his feet. "No! That is NOT going to happen! I won't let you!"

Suddenly a strange glow appeared from Dylan's sword. Bowser covered his eyes.

"What is this blinding light?!" Bowser exclaimed.

Dylan stared at the sword. The sword started shining with a bright light. It then grew to the length of a medieval sword. Dylan held it up and gazed into it.

_Use me…_

Dylan started. 'Did the sword just speak to me?'

Bowser's eyes widened. "No! NO! It can't be! He's a myth! He's not real!'

"It's time to bring to an end!" Dylan yelled. He leaped into the air as if catapulted. His sword glowed as he raised it and brought it down with all his strength.

Bowser roared as the sword struck him. He fell to the ground face first, shrinking down to normal size.

Mario seized his chance. He sped behind Bowser and grabbed his tail. He spun Bowser around and around and then released him into the air.

"So longsy Bowser!"

Luigi walked up and waved his cap. "Bye-bye."

Bowser roared as he flew out of the stadium and into the horizon.

Mario, Luigi, and Dylan all cheered as the crowd celebrated.

Sonic came running up. "That was tight, Dylan! How did you do that?"

Dylan shrugged. "Beats me! I honestly don't have a clue."

Mario walked up, Luigi in tow. "Excuse me, but a who exactly are you?"

Dylan turned to Mario. "Can you arrange an audience with the Princess? We'll explain everything then."

Mario nodded. "Okey-dokie. Follow us."

The two plumbers walked out of the stadium, with Dylan and Sonic right behind them.

"Thank you for lettings us explain things to you, Your Highness."

The plumbers had led Dylan and Sonic to Peach's castle, where she and her butler, Toadsworth, had listened to Dylan's and Sonic's tale.

"You're very welcome, Destined." Peach replied. "It is the least I could do for you rescuing me."

"Quite right." Toadsworth added. "We would've been in rather a sticky wicket if you fine fellows hadn't shown up at that moment."

"No problem." Sonic said. "You could say we were in the neighborhood."

"Now, what did you say your names were?" asked Peach.

Dylan answered. "My name is Dylan. Dylan Mitchell. My friend here is Sonic, the hero of his world, Mobius."

"Nice to meet ya."

"What brings you to our fine Kingdom?" Toadsworth asked.

"Well, we're looking for the portal that is in this world so we can open it and join it with the existing one in Mobius." Dylan said. "Do you know of such a place?"

Toadsworth looked unsure. "Forgive me for asking this Destined, but…may I see your sword?"

"Huh? Why?"

"I wish to confirm something."

Dylan looked at Sonic, who shrugged.

Dylan nodded and handed over his sword.

Toadsworth took it in his hands, seeming to focus intensely. He studied it from every angle. Finally, he looked down at it, satisfied, and then handed it back to Dylan.

"There. Forgive me for asking, but I had to check. I had my doubts."

Dylan wasn't unhappy by any means. "No problem, but if I might ask, why did you want to check it?"

"Because I was one of the people who helped forge that sword."

Everyone except Toadsworth was surprised. "Is this true, Toadsworth?" asked Peach.

"It is Princess. Forgive me for keeping this secret from you, but I had taken an oath not to speak a word about it until the heir returned to the worlds."

Toadsworth turned to Dylan. "The portal is in this very room, Destined. Wait one moment."

Toadsworth walked over to a nearby tapestry. Dylan watched as he pulled it back, revealing a circular marking similar to the one at G.U.N. As if on cue, Dylan's sword started glowing. Dylan walked over and pressed the sword against the marking. The flash of light made everyone except Dylan and Toadsworth shield their eyes.

As the light died down, everyone opened their eye to see a portal where the marking had been.

"It has been so long…" murmured Toadsworth.

Dylan didn't say anything. Then he noticed something.

"Something's coming through!"

Dylan grabbed Toadsworth and backed up to where the others were. A figure came out the portal. It turned to Dylan.

"It's about time. I was waiting down there forever."

"Mom! What are you doing here?"

Melissa smiled. "Commander put me in charge of diplomatic relations. I was waiting for you to open a portal, though I didn't know which world you landed in." She turned to Peach. "Hello, Princess. My name is Melissa Mitchell. I'm here on behalf of the Guardian Units of Nations. I'm to be your escort to meet with our President."

Peach nodded. "Of course. Toadsworth?"

The butler stepped to her side. Melissa turned to Dylan.

"I'll be dealing with the relations when you open each portal. You better hurry and open the rest."

Dylan smiled. "Got it. Mom. Sonic, let's go."

Sonic hurried over. "Right behind you, bud."

"Wait!"

Both Dylan and Sonic turned to see Mario walk up to them.

"What's up?"

"I wish to go with you."

Dylan was surprised. "Really? You sure? Something might happen when you're gone."

Mario nodded. "Don't a worry. Luigi can take care of things while I'm with you."

Dylan nodded. "Okay! Let's go."

"Right!"

"Okey dokie!"

The trio leaped through the portal.


	12. Hyrule Havoc

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I own nothing mentioned in this story. I only own my own characters.

Chapter 12: Hyrule Havoc

The trio landed in a basement similar to G.U.N.'s main base. The only difference was the décor. It was completely different, years different.

"Any of this look familiar, Dylan?" asked Sonic, looking around.

Dylan was slowly scanning the room. "Not yet. Gimmie a sec."

He walked forward slowly, taking in everything he saw, until his eyes fell upon an old tapestry.

'Hmm…nothing yet…wait, that symbol,'

There was a symbol on the tapestry, a set of three pyramids, one on top of the other two, forming a triangle.

'That symbol…is that the Triforce? If that really is it, then that means we're in…'

"HALT! DON'T MOVE!"

Dylan turned to see a warrior wielding a sword and shield. Several soldiers were running up as well.

Sonic and Mario were at Dylan's side in a flash. Mario pulled out his hammer and Sonic prepared for a Spin Dash, but Dylan quickly acted before a fight could start.

"LINK, STOP! We didn't come to fight!"

The warrior, revealed to be Link, was stunned, and then aimed his sword as Dylan. "How do you know me!?"

"Arrange an audience with Zelda and we'll explain."

Link immediately shook hid head. "For all I know, you could be assassins."

Mario spoke up. "I'm a plumber."

Sonic looked at Mario. "I don't think what he knows that is, Mario."

Dylan was unmoved. "We aren't assassins Link; I don't care what you say. Just take us to Zelda or I'll have to use force."

Link stepped up to Dylan, being a little taller. They both eyed each other for what seemed like hours. Finally, Link relented. "Fine, but I'm confiscating the sword you have."

Dylan pulled out his sword and handed it over.

Link took it. "Follow me…Don't touch anything."

Link turned and walked off, Dylan and his friends following.

"I already don't a like this guy." Mario said to Sonic.

Sonic nodded. "You and me both. This guy must be a loner. Kinda like Shadow."

"Who?"

"I'll explain later."

--

The quartet entered a large throne room similar to Princess Peach's. There were tapestries and suits of armor lining the adjacent walls. Then they saw Zelda.

She was beautiful, to make it short. She gave off the feeling that she knew what to do in a situation and had the guts and will to go through with it. All in all, she seemed like the perfect mixture and beauty and brains.

Dylan stared. 'Whoa, she's even cuter in person…DUDE! FOCUS!' He composed himself.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. I trust we didn't inconvenience you by dropping in like this."

Zelda shook her head. "No, of course not. I apologize for seeming suspicious but…who exactly are you?"

Dylan shrugged. "I doubt you'd believe us."

"Explain anyway. I wish to know.

Dylan nodded. He then proceeded to explain everything that happened, about the portals and the mission to reunite the worlds. Sonic and Mario helped out with details.

When they were done, Link seemed skeptical, but Zelda was thoughtful. "Well, you certainly made yourselves known, even if it was in an odd fashion."

Dylan chuckled nervously. "Heh heh, sorry. The portal dropped us off where it did. We couldn't exactly control it."

Zelda nodded. "So, the worlds are reuniting. I'm guessing that you wish to find the portal in this world, correct."

"Yeah. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes and no. Before you ask, I'll explain. You see, when the hero of this world in the old days sealed the portal, he realized that it was vulnerable in its current location. An evil force had almost exploited it before. The force was defeated, but the hero refused to take another chance. He took a sacred artifact, sealed part of the portal's energy into it, and hid it in a safe place where it would stay until the time when the worlds would reunite once more. Fortunately, the secret has been passed down in the Royal Family for generations. I know where it is, and where it can be found."

Dylan smiled. "Great! Just tell us where and we're good to go!"

Zelda stood up. "No. You cannot go alone. There is an enchantment to keep out intruders. I will go with you to dispel it. Will you escort me?"

Dylan smiled. "I'd be honored, Your Majesty."

"Please, call me Zelda, Destined. To be honest, I dislike this much formality."

"Sure, Zelda. My name's Dylan. Dylan Mitchell."

Zelda nodded, smiling. "An honor to meet you, Dylan."

"Likewise."

"Now then, the artifact is located in the Lost Woods, though it is near impossible to traverse the Woods without a guide. That is another reason why I am going."

Dylan nodded. "Don't worry, Zelda. We'll protect you."

Sonic nodded in agreement. "You bet! I'd like to see the neighborhood goons deal with the likes of us!"

"PRINCESS!" piped up Link. "What are you doing? How can you listen to them?"

"Because, Link, I've learned something you should learn: how to trust somebody."

"WHAT?! But princess..."

"No buts, Link."

Link was still not satisfied. "No. I will NOT let those two and their little rat friend be your only protectors. I insist on coming too."

Sonic got a little peeved. "Don't you know anything? I'm not a rat, I'm a hedgehog!"

Zelda raised her hands to bring silence. "Fine. Link, you can come as well."

Link nodded, and then turned to Dylan, giving back his sword. "I'm watching you, kid. Don't give a reason to run you through." He then walked off to prepare for the trip.

Mario walked up to Dylan. "I think he's a gonna be trouble."

Dylan shook his head. "Calm down, Mario. He's to Zelda what you are to Peach. He's only watching out for his princess."

--

The quintet started out soon afterwards. Link and Zelda went on horseback, but Dylan and the others chose to walk. Sonic didn't like horses very much, and Mario only ever rode Yoshi before. Dylan just liked walking. He tried to converse with Link, hoping to break the ice.

"Hey, Link. I'm sorry about earlier. I just want you to know I've been a  
fan of your games in my world and..."

"Save the pleasantries, kid. I still don't quite trust that you are who you say you are.  
Until then, I suggest you keep to yourself unless you want me to relieve you of a limb."

Sonic came to Dylan's defense. "Hey, watch it buddy! I don't care who you are, you don't mess with one of my friends you hear me!?

"I don't take orders from anybody except Zelda, blue rat."

"And enough about that rat stuff! I'm a HEDGEHOG, get it elf boy!? HEDGE! HOG!"

"And when am I supposed to care about what you think, RAT?"

Dylan had to grab Sonic before the hedgehog could attack.

"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!"

Zelda had imposed herself, along with her horse, between the two. "That is enough! I don't want to hear another word! Especially from you, Link! I don't care what you think!"

Link and Sonic both reluctantly backed off, grumbling.

Dylan turned to Zelda. "Is this normal?"

"Unfortunately. Ever since the last raid of Bulbins, Link's become overprotective in a sense. It's been months, but he's still the same."

"Bulbins? Isn't Ganondorf gone?"

Zelda was surprised, but composed herself. "Sorry. You know about Ganondorf?"

"Yeah."

"I see, and yes, Ganondorf is gone, but Bulbins were never truly his minions. They only serve either themselves or someone stronger then them. They don't answer to any actual ruler."

Dylan nodded. "I see." He stayed silent for most of the trip, though he occasionally glanced over at Link. He was surprised to see the hero of Hyrule act like a total jerk. He could understand the why, but he still thought it was wrong.

They arrived at the entrance to Kokiri Forest. Both Mario and Sonic were surprised at what they saw.

"Mammia mia! There is only kids!"

"Yeah! Where did the adults go?"

"The Kokiri are forest children, born of the Deku tree." Dylan explained. "They never grow up to be adults, and live their entire lives as children with only their fairies as  
companions. Link's ancestor lived here, even though he wasn't Kokiri himself."

Link looked irritated, but whatever he was about to say was cut of by a scream.

"Bulbins!" yelled Link as he pulled out his sword. Dylan followed his example, then turned to Zelda.

"Stay back. We got this!"

Then he charged at the Bulbins yelling,

"HEY! Pick on somebody else for a change, you morons!"

Mario, Sonic, and Link followed, attacking the Bulbins.

Link was slicing any Bulbin in range, scattering them with each swing.

Sonic was running circles around the Bulbins, forcing them together for Mario to pound with his hammer.

Dylan was holding his own, striking a Bulbin with his sword, then spinning around to punch another in the face. He saw Zelda using a sword to handle some Bulbins who thought she was easy prey. 'She's not bad. I wonder she gives lessons…FOCUS, DYLAN! There a fight going on!'

He took out all Bulbins coming at him for the next few minutes before turning to see a shocking sight.

One of the Bulbins had overpowered Zelda and was holding her at knife-point. Link turned to see the scene and moved to help.

The Bulbin put the knife at Zelda's throat. The threat was unmistakable.

Link stared for a few seconds, then started to put down his sword to surrender.

'No! This can't happen!' Dylan thought. 'Wait. Maybe…'

He checked his pocket. He pulled out the blue Chaos Emerald.

'I almost forgot about this. Could I…?'

He thought for a moment. 'It's worth a shot.'

Link had put down his sword and the Bulbin was about to, without Link knowing it, perform a double-cross on him, when a shout rang out.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

Zelda disappeared from the Bulbin's grip, reappearing in Dylan's arms. He put her down rather quickly.

Link seized the chance. Quickly picking up his sword, he swung it like a baseball bat, sending the Bulbin flying into a tree, knocking it silly.

With what seemed like their leader taken out, the Bulbins fled, taking their leader with them.

With the thanks from the Kokiri, the group headed towards the Lost Woods. Zelda looked over at Dylan.

"Thank you for saving me. You lived up to your word."

Dylan scratched his head in an embarrassed fashion, his face a little red. "Please, Zelda. I just did what I needed to do."

Zelda smiled. "That's what any hero does. You're no different."

Dylan was saved from further embarrassment by Link joining them.

"We'll have to continue on foot. The horses can't get up to the woods."

"Very well. Let's move on."

On the way, Link turned to Dylan.

"Hey Dylan…"

"Hmm?"

"Sorry about earlier. Anybody willing to save somebody, especially Zelda, without even hesitating as well is okay in my book."

"Don't worry about it. I still have a long way to go in the hero biz."

--

The group made their way through the Lost Woods, letting Zelda lead the way to go since one wrong turn meant magically ending up near the beginning of the woods. Dylan knew how  
annoying that was in the games, especially since he got lost several times while playing them. Eventually, they arrived at a clearing with a large building overlooking it.

"So this is the Forest Temple."

"Play a game with this in it, Dylan?" asked Sonic.

"Yeah, but it's been a while. This temple hasn't appeared since the N64."

Zelda walked forward towards the arch under the temple entrance. She knelt down, brushing the old leaves and branches away. Then she stood up, a strange parcel in her hands. She walked back to the group, holding it.

"So that's what we came for?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes. Now we must return to Hyrule Castle. The portal is there."

"Got it."

--

The group had returned to the inner front gates of the castle when Dylan's sword started glowing.

Link jumped. "Why is your sword doing that!?"

"It can somehow sense when a portal is nearby." Dylan replied. "As to how, I still don't know yet."

Zelda walked up to the wall left of the gates. She moved to tapestry on it to one side, revealing a familiar marking.

"The next portal!" said Dylan. "Now how is this one opened?"

"Let me go first." Said Zelda, pulling out the parcel. She removed the covering from it. It looked like a musical instrument, but it was purple with strange holes in it. Dylan gave a start.

"That's…That's the Ocarina of Time!"

"You know about it?" asked Link.

"Yeah, it was one of the main tools in the N64 Zelda games. I didn't think was still around."

Zelda nodded. "It was a closely kept secret. Now to release the energy."

She put it to her mouth and started to a play a tune. The rest of the group had never heard the tune before, but Dylan recognized it immediately.

'The Song of Time. It's been a while seen I've heard that.'

As Zelda played, the ocarina started glowing, and Dylan could see a trail of energy travel from it to the marking. When she finished, Dylan's sword glowed a little brighter.

Dylan stepped forward, sword in hand. He pressed the sword against the marking. One flash of light later, a portal had formed.

Dylan stepped back, and a few moments later, someone came through, but Dylan was surprised at who it was.

"Rouge? Where's Mom?"

"Currently with the President and Princess Peach. She couldn't be spared, so I took her place. She'll be done soon, though." Rouge turned to Zelda. "You're Princess Zelda, right I'm to be your escort to meet with the president."

Zelda nodded. "I see. Lead on." She followed Rouge back in the portal.

Dylan turned to Sonic and Mario. "Let's go, guys."

Both nodded and stood to either side of him.

Link stepped up. "If at all possible, I'd like to accompany you. I wish to make up for my earlier behavior."

Dylan smiled. "Welcome aboard, Link. Let's go! Another world awaits!"

The group walked into the portal.


	13. Nightmare in Dreamland

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or things mentioned. I only own my own characters.

Chapter 13: Nightmare in Dreamland

The group landed in an area with, shockingly, sparkling oceans and green hillsides.

"It's beautiful." Said Link, who was looking around in awe.

Dylan looked around, trying to find a familiar landmark or something else to identify.

Sonic had run up a nearby hill to check out the view. Noticing something he called to the others,

"I see something! Come and look!"

Mario joined him on the hilltop, looking where Sonic was pointing.

"It's a town!"

Link turned to Dylan. "We should head there. It might be familiar to you."

Dylan nodded. "Good call. Let's go."

--

When they got there, the town was seemingly deserted.

"What's going on? Was this town attacked?" asked Sonic.

Link shook his head. "I don't think so. There is no debris, no signs that a fight took place."

Dylan was thinking. Then he looked at the others "All right guys, here's the plan: Split up. Try to find if there is anyone here."

The three heroes nodded and the group separated and looked around town. They met back at the town square.

"Did you find anyone?" Dylan asked.

"Nope," Sonic answered. "How about you, Link."

"This place is completely empty," Link said. "We seem to be the only bit of life here."

Dylan nodded, then, noticing something wrong, looked around the square.

"Wait. Where's Mario?"

"MAMMA MIA!"

The three turned to see Mario running for his life. He ran up to the others.

"Dude, what wrong? You look like you're being chased." asked Sonic.

As soon as he said that, a small figure wearing armor wielding a small sword appeared from the shadows. It looked a like a knight.

"I've found you, intruder!"

He was soon joined by another knight, also brandishing a sword.

"Intruders! Why have you come to Cappy Town!?"

"Cappy Town!?" exclaimed Dylan.

"Aye. You have trespassed. Surrender or die, minions of King Dedede!"

Dylan shook his head. "We're not with King Dedede!"

"LIAR!"

The knight who spoke leapt forward to slash at Dylan, but Link blocked the strike and forced him back.

"Thanks."

"My duty."

Both knights were angry. "Insolent fools! We will strike you down where you stand!"

Sonic had had enough. He pulled out the red Chaos Emerald.

"SONIC WIND!"

The wave of energy slammed the knights into a wall.

They got up, confused. "What was that? The king's minions have never done that before!"

Then a voice called out,

"KNIGHTS, DESIST!"

Dylan's group turned to see a third knight. This one had wings and was in a ball shape. He wore a mask and held a zigzag shaped sword. The two knights stepped aside to let him pass.

The knight stepped up to Dylan. "An honor to meet you at last, Destined."

"Metaknight?" inquired Dylan.

Metaknight nodded. "You've named me."

Sonic looked at the new arrival. "Is this the hero?"

Dylan turned to the others. "Guys, meet Metaknight, the protector of Cappy Town. He is a powerful warrior. However, he isn't the hero." He turned back to Metaknight. "Do you know where Kirby is?"

"Unfortunately, I do not. I was searching for him just now, leaving my knights to stand guard here."

"What's the problem? King Dedede?"

"Correct. However, as you may guess, his plan turned on him. His castle is being rampaged as we speak."

"What monster did the king get this time?

"A stone golem that can shoot beams of light from his eyes."

"Laser-vision. Great. Need a hand?"

The knight nodded. "It would be appreciated, but I doubt that even you could stop it at the moment. Kirby must be found."

"Okay."

The knight turned and hurried back the way he came. "Come! This way!"

Dylan nodded and turned his friends, yelling, "Come on!" and ran after the flying knight. The trio followed.

--

"So who is the King Dedede, Dylan?" asked Sonic as they followed Metaknight to the king's castle.

"To be blunt, he's a horrible king." Dylan replied. "Horrible? How much?" Link asked.

"Not horrible evil, horrible stupid. He's a penguin with a hammer and a massive superiority complex. He only cares about himself, not his subjects. His I.Q. is not very high. Finally, he always buys pets that turn into monsters from Night Mare Industries."

"Doesn't sound a very friendly." remarked Mario.

"He isn't. He doesn't like Kirby at all, ever since he came to this planet, which is called Pop Star. Don't ask why, I didn't name it. Anyway, Dedede is always trying to kill Kirby or make him look bad, though most of his plans blow up in his face."

Sonic snickered. "Sounds like Eggman. So who's this Kirby guy?"

Dylan chuckled a little. "It's best to see for yourself. All that I'll say is that you'll be very surprised."

"I kinda doubt that, man. I've seen some crazy stuff in my time."

Dylan smirked. "Famous last words."

They had reached the castle. They looked up at it. It was as if it was made out of pure gold, it was so fancy.

Sonic whistled. "That's extravagance right there."

Suddenly a part of the castle blew up. A penguin, a snail, and several brown ball-like creatures the size of Metaknight ran out.

Paying no attention to them, the group ran right past, bowling over Dylan in the process.

"RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" The penguin was yelling.

Link and Mario helped Dylan to his feet. "You all right?"

Dylan nodded. "I'm okay. I didn't see that coming, though."

Suddenly out of the hole in the castle came a golem, laser beams coming out of his eyes.

"That guy's tall." Said Sonic.

Metaknight flew down. "Are you injured?"

Dylan shook his head. "I'm fine. Where were you?"

"I received word from my knights. Kirby is on his way."

Just then, without warning, the golem grabbed Mario.

"Mammia mia!"

The golem then threw him in to the air.

"WWWAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"MARIO!" yelled Dylan.

Just before Mario hit the ground, though, a star whooshed down and caught him. Mario was set down, and the star whooshed towards the golem.

A small pink puff ball jumped out of star and landed in front of it. Dylan recognized him immediately.

"It's Kirby!"

Sonic's jaw hit the ground. "THAT'S KIRBY! HE'S A PUFFBALL!"

Link turned to Dylan. "Shouldn't we help him?"

Dylan smiled. "Don't worry. I've played his games. He's no pushover."

The golem fired laser beams at the little pink ball, but Kirby opened his mouth and swallowed the beams, he then turned into a glowing red golem. He then fired laser beams of his own at the golem, blasting it to bits. He then ran up to it and used his golem strength to bash the remains into dust, then fired one more laser beam to destroy it. Changing back to normal, he walked up to the group.

Mario put out his hand to shake. "That you for a the save."

Kirby reached up and shook hands. "Puyo Puyo."

Mario was surprised. "Uhhh…can't you speak?"

"Pyo?"

Dylan was confused. Then he remembered. "Sorry. I forgot. Kirby can't talk very well."

"Huh? Why's that?" asked Sonic.

Metaknight stepped forward. "I can answer that. Technically, Kirby was supposed to be in hibernation for another two centuries. However, his Star Ship detected monsters being ordered by King Dedede, so his ship headed for Pop Star and he was awakened before schedule. As a result, he is still a baby."

"A BABY?!" exclaimed Mario, Sonic, and Link.

"Yeah," said Dylan, "but he can still fight, though sometimes he needs a little help."

"Which I provide, if necessary." Said Metaknight. "Kirby was supposed to be in hibernation for another 200 years. As he is now, he lacks the knowledge and training of a Star Warrior such as me. I am also one of the few that can understand his speech. He can understand you, but he can't reply readily."

"I'm getting it now." said Sonic. "So are you supposed to be his teacher?"

"Yes and no. I protect him when necessary, though I try to have Kirby learn on his own. Some lessons cannot be taught, only learned."

Link nodded in understanding. Having had to learn everything on his own, including how to fight, he knew that there were some things you could only learn yourself.

Dylan got up from where he'd been sitting during Metaknight's explanation. "Okay then. Metaknight, we need to find the portal in this world. Do you know where it could be?"

Metaknight shook his head. "I do not know. However, I do know someone who might."

Dylan nodded. "Alright then, let's go."

--

When they got back to Cappy Town, it was full of people.

"Mamma mia! It's so full!"

Link turned to Metaknight. "Were they here all this time?"

"Yes. They take shelter when King Dedede gets another monster. This is normal."

The group was approached by three Dreamland inhabitants. Kirby ran up to the youngest, who received a hug from the puffball.

Metaknight stepped forward and bowed. "Sir Ebrum, Lady Like."

Dylan stepped forward. "Hi there."

Sir Ebrum looked at Dylan. "So you are the Destined."

Dylan shrugged. "Well, no one else has stepped forward. It's an honor."

He then turned to his group and made introductions.

"Guys, meet Sir Ebrum, the prime minister, and his wife, Lady Like. The girl is their daughter, Tiff. She is the keeper of Kirby's Warpstar."

"You mean that star he rides?" asked Link.

"Yeah. Kirby cannot summon it himself. Tiff was given the honor of keeping the Warpstar for when he needs it."

Sir Ebrum nodded. "You truly are the Destined to have such knowledge. To be completely truthful, I did not believe it at first."

Dylan smiled. "Don't worry about it."

"Now then, what you are looking for should be right here in the square."

"Okay, that narrows it down. Now where could it be…?"

Dylan looked around the square, thinking. Meanwhile, Tiff noticed that Kirby was poking at a star at the base of the Star statue in the center of the square. It had been there a long time before Kirby had arrived on Pop Star. (A/N: I'm not sure if this is true, but for the purposes of this story, the statue is there. Feel free to inform me about this or anything else.)

"What is it, Kirby?"

Kirby pointed at the star. "Poyo Poyo Poyo."

Tiff walked over and looked at the star. It seemed out of place with the others. She turned to the group.

"Uh, Destined, or whoever you are, can you come and look at this?"

Dylan nodded. "Okay." He started to walk over, but as he got close, his sword started glowing. Everyone gasped softly as it glowed brighter with each step.

Dylan gave a small nod in confirmation. "That clinches it. The portal is in the star." He started to draw his sword, but stopped. He turned to Tiff.

"Uh, you might want to step back."

Tiff was confused, but nodded. She took Kirby's hand and went back to the others.

Dylan pressed his sword to the star. There was a flash of light, and a portal was where the star had been.

A few seconds later, two figures walked out of the portal. One Dylan recognized as his mom, the other, seeing Dylan, ran over and hugged him.

"DYLAN!"

Dylan was surprised. "Sarah!? What are you doing here?"

"After I got done with my meeting and was waiting for you to open another portal, she wanted to see you." Replied Melissa. "I couldn't say no."

Sarah let go of Dylan and looked around. "Wow! This place is beautiful."

Then she saw Kirby.

Kirby simply said, "Puyo!"

That was enough.

Sarah was suddenly hugging it like a teddy bear.

"He's so CUUUUUUTTTTTEEE!!"

Dylan's friends were watching the whole thing.

Dylan just shrugged, a embarrassed look on his face.

Melissa looked at Dylan. "I think you're almost done, Dylan. There is one last portal, I think."

"Okay. I got it."

Dylan turned to the others. "Why don't you guys check in at your home worlds and see what's going on. I can take care of last one myself."

"You sure, Dylan?" said Mario. "You a might need help."

"Don't worry, I'll be okay. I have to rely on myself, too. I'll open the portal in the last world as soon as possible."

With that said, he leapt through the portal.


	14. Do the Ninja

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Here's chapter 14. In response to a review sent to me, I am not sure about adding Xenosaga. I myself have never played it and therefore will not be able to get everything correct about it. I tried looking it up, but the storyline is WAAYY intense with details. If you really want it, feel free to send a basic summary that I can work with. For now, onward to the next chapter..

Disclaimer: I only own my own stuff. Nothing else

Chapter 14: Do the Ninja

Dylan landed in what looked like a lush forest. There was a great deal of trees, so close together that they blocked most of the sunlight.

'Nothing familiar from the looks of it. Let's try a bird's eye view.'

He back for a running start then ran up one of the trees, stopping at the top branch. He gazed at the forest, stretching as far as the eye could see. Dylan was mesmerized.

'This view is incredible! I wonder where I am.'

Then he noticed something in the distance.

'Hey, that looks like a town! Maybe there's something there I can identify.'

He dropped down and ran in the direction of the town, a small but sizeable dust cloud in his wake.

'I hope there's food there too. I'm getting hungry. I wonder what on the menu?'

----

When he reached the village, he knew that something was off. Everything seemed in disrepair like a fight had just happened. Dylan stood, shocked.

'What happened here? Has this place been ransacked or is this normal? What should I do?'

As Dylan was contemplating his next course of action…

BOOOOOOOMMMMMM!

An explosion knocked of his feet. He got back up.

'That answers one question: This is recent damage. I better get in there!'

Dylan bolted though the gates sword in hand.

----

Naruto panted heavily as he struggled to get up, his orange and black coat, and orange sweat pants had tears and burns all over. He glared at his opponents, two men in black cloaks with red clouds on them, a single slash going across their forehead protectors; one looking like a shark, the other had had red eyes with spinning commas in them.

His teammates, Sakura and Sai and his sensei Kakashi, and Jiraya the Toad Sage were all too weak to move. "Dang it." He panted out.

"Hm, looks like you lose brat, now you're coming with us." The shark man chuckled as he made his way to the boy. It looked it the end, but just then…

"LIGHTNING!"

A lightning blast came out of nowhere, slamming the shark-face guy into a tree. He got to his feet, to no end.

"WHO DID THAT!?!"

"That would be me, buddy."

Everyone turned to see Dylan walked towards them, his hand still spouting a few sparks from it. "Want another one, Sharky?"

The red-eyed ninja showed no surprise at the new arrival. "This is none of your concern; leave and you may keep your life."

Dylan sighed, shaking his head. "Why? Should I be scared of you? I don't think so."

The red-eyed ninja showed no emotion. "Very well." He turned to the shark-faced ninja. "Kisame, get rid of him."

Kisame smirked. "With pleasure, Itachi." He charged at Dylan, swinging his sword, Samehada.

Dylan dodged and threw another Lightning. Kisame managed to block it, though the discharge jolted his muscles.

Dylan was confused. "How did you block that?"

Kisame smirked. "Samehada is one of a kind, kid. It can absorb chakra and send it back out." He started making handsigns. "My turn now."

Dylan's confusion deepened. 'Who attacks this way?'

"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

He spat a huge jet of water from his mouth. Dylan was slammed into the wall of a building.

Kisame smirked. "Had enough, brat?"

Dylan got up. 'This guy's serious. Time for Chaos Control!'

Dylan pulled out his Emerald, which was glowing from the resonation of Dylan's energy.

Kisame laughed. "You think some shiny rock can save you!?! You don't scare me!"

Dylan smirked. "You should be scared, Sharkman!" Then he used it.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

Dylan shot forward, time slowing down around him. Before Kisame could react, Dylan lashed out a series of punches ending with a powerful kick. He then grabbed Kisame's cloak and yanked him back into a super-charged punch.

BAM!

Kisame was sent straight into the same tree, breaking it in the process, as time returned back to normal. Dylan was in front of him, smirking.

"You scared yet?"

Kisame, even angrier if that was possible. "I'm gonna KILL YOU!!" he roared, and charged, sword swinging.

Dylan calmly said, "Chaos Control." Time slowed down again as Dylan dodged Kisame's attack and slammed him against the ground with both feet. Kisame got back up, but Dylan calmly held up his hand.

"Don't bother attacking unless you want more pain. With the power of Chaos Control, I can control time and space. You have no chance."

Kisame stepped forward angrily, but he was cut off by Itachi. "Save your strength, Kisame. Why must I keep saving your hide?" He turned to Dylan. "I am also a manipulator, young boy, but my technique targets the mind."

Dylan smiled. "Okay. You want to fight too? Fine by me." He raised his sword in anticipation.

Itachi looked Dylan, preparing his attack, but his eyes widened when he saw the sword.

He turned to Kisame. "Kisame, we're leaving."

His partner was surprised. "WHAT!?! He just a kid! Go ahead and…"

Itachi cut him off. "We have no chance against him. We must go."

He then leaped onto a rooftop and started running along the rooftop towards the forest. Kisame, surprised, soon followed.

Jiraya got to his feet. "Well, it looks it we've won this one." Dylan spun around, a little ticked.

"Whaddya mean, you old geezer!?! I had to save your butts!"

Jiraya was red in the face, but Kakashi stopped him. He then turned to Dylan. "Thank you for your help, but who exactly are you?"

Dylan smiled. "The name's Dylan. Dylan Mitchell. Now then," he looked at the whole group. "Can you guys tell me where I am?"

----

"HEY! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO HANDCUFF ME! I'M NOT HERE TO KILL ANYONE!"

Dylan was slightly ticked off due to the fact that he was stuck in handcuffs while the guy with only one eye visible on his face, called "Kakashi", was carrying Dylan's sword along with his emerald while they went to see this 'Hokage'. "Tell me again why I decided to be cuffed? I'm no criminal." Dylan asked, more like demanded the leader of the group, who had his nose in a strange, orange book at the time.

"Simple: This is the only way you're going to meet the Hokage. With that technique of yours, you could take us all on with no trouble."

Dylan smirked. "I'm not THAT strong. You should meet Shadow. He's MUCH better at Chaos Control than I am."

The blonde-haired kid turned and pointed his finger at Dylan. "THERE'S NO WAY YOU'D BEAT ME!"

Dylan chuckled. "Sure, and you had those two weirdos right where you wanted em. Do yourself a favor, Blondie, and shut your mouth. You have enough enemies as it is."

The blonde, shocked, was about to retort when his pink-haired teammate stopped him.

"Quiet, you idiot! Do you want him as an enemy?" Dylan smirked. "Yeah, listen to your little girlfriend, Blondie."

Pink hair spun around. "I AM NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!"

Dylan chuckled. "Sure you aren't."

Pink hair managed to calm down. Dylan turned to the old man. "Yo, old man. Are we there yet?"

The old man glared at him. "I'M NOT THAT OLD!"

"Sure you aren't."

"DO YOU WHO I AM BRAT!?!"

"Do I care, OLD GEEZER?"

The old man just grumbled. Dylan overheard 'just like the other brat' and 'no respect'.

There was silence as they walked the rest of the way.

----

They arrived at a tower in the center of the town and went in. Kakashi and Jiraya took Dylan the rest of the way. Kakashi knocked on the door. A female voice said, "Come in." The trio went in. Dylan noticed a desk with a big stack of papers on it. The voice came from behind the papers.

"What's the matter now?"

The papers were pushed aside, revealed a beautiful blonde woman. She was like Zelda, except from the looks of it, she had definitely seen more action.

Dylan stared. And stared.

Then he turned his head towards Kakashi. "YOU DIDN'T SAY IT WAS A WOMAN!"

This obviously ticked the woman off, as she knocked Dylan upside the head.

WHAP!

Dylan reeled from the impact. "OW! THAT HURT!"

The woman looked at the other two.

"Who is this kid and why is he here?"

Dylan spoke up before the others could. "Dylan, but it's the Destined to you, hag."

The woman was surprised, then irritated. "Are you trying to play with me, kid?"

"You wish. The Cyclops has my sword and Emerald."

"Kakashi?"

The masked guy handed them over. The woman looked at them, nodding. Satisfied, she turned to the two ninjas.

"Let him go. He's clean."

The two were surprised. "Hokage-sama…"

"DO IT!"

Wordlessly, Kakashi freed Dylan from the handcuffs.

Dylan rubbed his wrists. "FINALLY! They were starting to chafe!"

The woman sat back down. "Leave us. I wish to speak to him alone."

The two ninja nodded and walked out.

"Now then, let me introduce myself. I am Tsunade, the fifth Hokage of the Leaf Village."

"Nice to meet you."

The two shared a handshake.

"Now then, there are two things I want to say before you ask me anything. First off, good punch! I didn't think a woman was capable of such strength, no offense."

"None taken. It's not actually strength, per se. It's merely concentrating my chakra into my fist and releasing it. It was tough to master, though. I doubt even you could do it on the first try."

"Same. Next thing, this is a village? It looks too big to be one."

"Believe it or not, I don't care. My grandfather founded this village along with his brother, but I would've thought you knew about this place and knew your way around."

Dylan shook his head. "Either Earth hasn't made a game of it yet or I haven't played it. It could be in production, but I doubt it. That reminds me of why I'm here: Do you know where the portal is in this world?"

"I believe I do. Follow me."

----

Dylan followed her outside the Tower to where she stopped at one of the walls. She pulled back a tapestry hanging there to reveal another marking.

"Okay, dumb question: Why were they all hidden behind tapestries?"

"Are you aware of the saying. 'If you wish to hide something, hide it in plain sight?'"

"Yeah, it was one of the main lines in _The Librarian_, a movie from back home."

"Same basic principle. So you gonna open it?"

"Oh! Right."

Dylan pressed his sword against the marking. One flash of light later, a portal had appeared.

Almost immediately a certain someone walked out of it.

Dylan smiled. "Hi, Mom. Every portal should be open now."

Melissa smiled. "Good job, Dylan. Mind showing me to the authority figure?"

Tsunade stepped forward. "She's right here."

"Tsunade, right?"

"Yes. Nice to meet you."

The two shared a handshake

Tsunade smiled. "So you're his mom? I wonder how you controlled him. He's kind of a loose cannon from my perspective."

Dylan glared. "Watch it, Grandma. I could take you apart."

"Really? You're welcome to try."

Then someone else came through. Dylan smiled.

"Hey, Sarah."

Sarah smiled back. "Hi Dylan. Where were you sent now?" She then noticed Tsunade.

"OMG! IS THAT TSUNADE!"

"Yeah. Why?"

"IT MEANS WE'RE IN NARUTO! WOW!"

Dylan put his hand on Sarah shoulders firmly. She calmed down.

"Sorry."

Melissa smiled. "Sarah, why don't you give Dylan a tour? He might need to be familiar with this world."

Sarah saluted. "Yes ma'am!" She then took off. Dylan followed, a little freaked at his friend's behavior, followed.

----

Dylan was running, hopping from building to building following Sarah. He had offered to carry her, but she declined, though she was blushed profusely, so he was following her from the rooftops. Eventually, there were no buildings underneath him. He was over a small river with a bridge over it. Naruto, Sai, and Sakura were standing on the bridge.

"Uh oh. Not good!" Dylan said.

Dylan fell into the river, screaming all the way down. The splash from his landing flew high into the air. Naruto, Sai, and Sakura turned to face him.

"Note to self: watch where you're running," Dylan said to himself.

'This guy's weirder than Naruto,' Sakura thought.

"Who are you?" Sai asked Dylan.

"My name's Dylan. Dylan Mitchell," Dylan answered. "And you?"

"I am Sai." Sai said.

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki, believe it," Naruto said.

"I'm Sakura Haruno," Sakura said. "Why did you fall into the water?"

"I was jumping from building to building when I kinda ran out of buildings." Dylan said.

"Yep, definitely weirder than Naruto," Sakura thought.

Sarah ran over. "Dylan, are you okay!?"

She then saw the ninja team. Fortunately she didn't freak.

"Um, hi."

Dylan got up. "Sarah, which one's the hero?"

Sarah replied, "If you mean central character, that would be Naruto."

Dylan was shocked. "Blondie!?! You're kidding me!"

"It's true."

"Sarah, be serious. I was expecting somebody serious. The Cyclops guy I wouldn't mind. Heck, The old man I could've lived with. But you've GOT to be kidding me: A clueless guy?"

Naruto was a little ticked. "What's wrong with me? I'm strong!"

"Strong, I probably can't argue with. Its smarts I'm worried about. From the looks of things, you're the brawn and Pinky's the brains."

Suddenly an ANBU appeared in a poof of smoke. Dylan prepared to attack, but Sarah stopped him.

"It's okay. He's not an enemy."

The ANBU grabbed Dylan and poofed off.

"Maybe I spoke too soon?"

----

Dylan found himself and the ANBU in a hallway with a door. Dylan turned to the ANBU.

"You going to tell me what's going on?"

"The Council wishes to speak to you."

Dylan shrugged. "You could've just asked. I wouldn't have complained."

Dylan walked through the door. He saw a long table in front of the only empty seat in the room, so he took the seat, leaned back and put his feet on the table, his arms crossed on his chest. "I doubt this a way to say hello to the new guy." he said simply, hearing groans coming from most of the Councilmen and a glare from the head of the Council, who had strange eyes that seemed to pierce through Dylan's brain. Dylan didn't flinch, instead he was irritated. "Somebody gonna tell me what's going on or do I have to find out?"

The head spoke. "We hear that you are the Destined. We have a crisis that we need resolved and only you can resolve it."

"Okay, you got a problem. Shoot."

"We will pay you handsomely when you succeed."

"Sure, sure. What's the problem?"

"We want you to kill a demon," the head stated, "The Kyuubi no Kitsune." with a nod the closet council member slid an upside down photo toward Dylan, who picked it up and flipped it, to see a picture of Naruto smiling.

'Eh? Is this a joke?' Dylan looked up. "Why would I want to kill a kid? I met the guy. He's harmless."

One of the members stood up. "He seems that way on the outside, but do not be fooled. He is a demon, the same one that attacked this village 15 years ago."

Dylan was irritated. 'These guys make me want to puke. Talk about 'set in your ways.'' Dylan stood up and headed towards the door. "He's a kid. I don't kill kids."

"It contains the king of all demons inside, what's the difference!" Another of the members stood up and yelled at the red coated man.

"Oh so it's the king of all demons too?" Dylan chuckled. "Sorry, but I'm no murderer. I refuse to kill somebody who has no record." He left, ignoring what the council yelling at him to come back. '_I guess I should tell that Tsunade what these guys wanted me to do._' he thought to himself as he made is way pass the ANBU and out of the building, which turned out to be the Hokage Tower.

Tsunade and Melissa met up with him as he was walking out.

"Are you alright?"

Dylan smirked. "I'm okay. A little miffed, but fine."

"What did they do?" asked Tsunade.

"Long story short, they wanted me to kill a demon. Only problem is, it looks just like that Naruto guy, so I said no and left, though they were kinda ticked."

"You dishonored the Council?" Tsunade was shocked.

"What? They're a bunch of fartheads, but enough about about that. Why did that demon look like Naruto?"

"Only he is allowed to answer that, Dylan." replied Tsunade.

"Okay. Where do I find him?"

----

Naruto was cleaning up his apartment, or should I say trying to. 'Man, I really wish I had help!'

There was a knock on the door.

'Huh? Was my wish granted?'

Naruto opened the door. It was Dylan.

"Uh, hi. Can I talk for a minute?"

Naruto shrugged. "Why? I'm a dummy."

"Circumstances change."

"Okay."

Dylan came in and sat down. Naruto sat down across from him.

"So what is it?"

Dylan seemed uncomfortable. "I don't how to put this lightly, so I'll get right to it: "do you have a relation to a demon Naruto?" at the question the said boy flinched. "Relax, I'm not going to kill you, but when I told your leader about the Council meeting, which is where I went, she went serious on me, now spill." He added a glare to prove his point that he wasn't going to stop till he got an answer.

Naruto let out a sigh '_looks like I have no choice_' "Alright I'll tell, it all began when the nine tailed fox, Kyuubi attacked our village long ago…" So Naruto told the story about how the Fourth sealed Kyuubi into his body and how the village thought he was the demon and not its container. Dylan just sat there and nodded at times to show he was listening.

"Okay so to bottom line it," he points to the young ninja's gut "you have a giant fox with nine tails in your stomach, and the village hates your guts for it." Naruto nodded saying he was right on. Dylan smiled. "Blondie, you are SO far from being a demon it's not even funny."

Naruto was surprised. "You…don't mind it?"

"Dude, you think you're different, but you should meet MY friends. You've met one, Sarah, but the rest could also be considered crazy by this village."

Naruto smiled. "So we're fine?"

"Yeah, we're cool. By the way, what also is special about you? Just asking."

Naruto jumped to his feet. "I'm gonna be the next Hokage!"

Dylan chuckled. "Big dreams. You're definitely hero material."

----

Dylan was walking towards the portal, Naruto at his side.

"You sure they'll like me?"

"Trust me, Naruto. They are all weird in some way. Just go with it. They'll like you."

Naruto smiled. "OKAY!"

The two walked through the portal, both eager to meet up with the other heroes.


	15. A New Threat

Tales of Destiny: The Begining

Disclaimer: I only own my own stuff. Nothing else.

Chapter 15: A New Threat

After Dylan reunited the worlds, things were slow for a while. Dylan spent time with his new friends, especially Sonic and Naruto. The blonde ninja had really hit it off with the rest of the heroes. When Naruto had revealed his favorite food besides ramen, chili dogs, Sonic immediately challenged him to an eating contest. This resulted in several eating competitions between the two. Sometimes Sonic won, sometimes Naruto won. The two turned out to be quite the same and became quick pals.

When Dylan wasn't having fun, he was training at G.U.N. (Hey that rhymes). Dylan spent the weekdays at a top secret training area with his mother, Rouge and a few other agents. Dylan would basically use Chaos Control and his other attacks repeatedly and as accurately as he could. He was still not perfect at control, considering he blew up several cars that belonged to high ranking officials. The Commander was forgiving, understanding that Dylan was still not completely used to his powers yet, though Dylan had a feeling that several officials were still mad at him. He also found out that while his normal abilities could be used anytime, he could only use his Chaos abilities with a Chaos Emerald. Rouge had a hunch that Dylan would be capable of this with his power fully awakened. He also was trained with a sword. Link and Metaknight took turns teaching him. Sonic and his friends also took part in the training.

A month had passed since Dylan had reunited the worlds, and Dylan and Sarah were walking in the park, watching the sunset.

"Hey, Dylan." Sarah spoke up.

"Uh, yes?"

"Err, it's really none of my business, but is the Commander still mad at you for… blowing up his car?" she asked.

"Heh… He forgave me, knowing I still have little control—hey…" He froze, thinking. "Wait a minute… I never told you that… how did you find out?"

"Erk." Sarah froze dead on the spot.

Silence…

"…uuuummmmm… a little birdie told me…?" she said wearily.

Dylan looked at her sarcastically. "Mm-hm, _which_ birdie was it _this_ time?"

"Uh, um, oh… ah! Look there's our ride!!" Sarah ran towards a car that was across the street.

"Sarah, you could've just said that you were watching. I wouldn't have minded."

"Um, okay." She said, feeling rather embarrassed.

"Hey you two! Come on!" said Melissa. Dylan and Sarah walked up and got in. Dylan rode shotgun.

"So, how was the beach?"

"It was great, Mom. I wish you could've joined us."

"I know, but I don't have as much free time as before. So, what happened?"

"Not much." Said Sarah. "Sonic and Naruto had ANOTHER contest. I swear, those two are always stuffing their faces. Dylan was complaining about the water being glacial cold. I swear that you and Sonic are alike, Dylan."

Dylan looked back at Sarah. "We are NOT that alike, Sarah. I don't hate the water like he does. I swear, sometimes you jump to conclusions, Sarah. Remember when Sonic fell into that puddle?" He was splashing around, thinking that he was drowning. It was only two feet deep. Everyone got a kick out of that."

"Yeah, I got a picture, too! Knuckles offered to buy it!"

The three laughed. Then was silence until Dylan asked, "Hey Mom, where did Rouge go?"

"I honestly don't know, Dylan. I haven't seen her in weeks. Stupid treasure…"

"Treasure!?! I thought it was important business for G.U.N. or something like that!"

"Dylan, you of all people should know that treasure is the only thing she really cares about."

Dylan groaned. "Geez, I know. Why is it always jewels!?! How did you put up with her?"

"I honestly don't know."

Dylan sighed and looked out the window. He was bored. Everything was just so slow.

'Man, this bites. What do I do now?'

Then he noticed the sky.

It was slightly a different color. And there were dark clouds hovering above. "Huh?" Dylan quickly opened a window and stuck his head out. The sky was actually red. The clouds seemed to be almost **pitch black.** "Um… guys?"

"Yeah?" The both replied.

"…You should take a look at the sky right about now."

Sarah opened her window and looked out. "Oh snap… Dylan, you weren't kidding. Melissa, take a look."

Melissa looked at Dylan and Sarah curiously and slowly opened the window. "What the…?" She stopped the car and stepped out, starring up at the sky. Dylan and Sarah looked at each other, and did the same. There also appeared to be lightning! It was so weird…

Then, Dylan felt something, something big and supernatural. Like a sixth sense.

Dylan's eyes widened.

Then, everything hit the fan.

KA-BOOM!!!

A huge beam of light had crashed down on a building and incinerated it! This is when everyone started panicking. To make matters worse, huge glowing monsters were falling from the sky!

"Dylan! Sarah! Move it!!" Melissa shouted and grabbed them by the arms and dashed forward. About half a second later, one of the monsters landed right on top of the car! Dylan was full of many emotions. Most of them were not good at all. 'W-wh-what's happening?! Where did these… **things** come from?!?'

Suddenly one landed in from of them. Sarah and Dylan dodged the swipe of its claw, but Melissa was backhanded into a wall. She got up pulling out a gun, but the monster was aiming its claw at her, and it was glowing/.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Dylan shouted. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!!!" Dylan then felt a huge surge of energy run up his arm and into his hand. He aimed the attack and fired.

"VOLT BLAST!"

There was a loud BAM and a huge bolt of lighting blasted from his hand and struck the monster, incinerating it.

Melissa called to him, "Dylan, you all right!?!"

Dylan called back, "I'm okay! Take Sarah and go! I'll deal with these guys!"

"DYLAN STOP!"

But Dylan was charging towards the monsters.

Dylan ran up, slicing one in half while throwing a fireball at another. A third tried to attack only to get a punch to the face and a Lightning down its throat. 'Time for Chaos Control! Wait, I forgot to bring an Emerald!' Then a swarm showed up and Dylan was bowled over. A particularly nasty one stepped up, raising its claw to finish him.

'Oh no! Somebody, anybody, HELP!'

_Fwoosh!_

'Huh? Am I dead?'

Suddenly, Dylan found that he wasn't dead, he had been picked up and was being carried by someone. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who.

"SONIC!"

"Hey, hey, Dylan!" He smiled. "Long time, no see!"

"Th-thank goodness it's you!" Dylan stuttered out, getting to the point. "I-I've lost where Sarah and Mom went!"

"Don't worry about it, they're probably safe about now." He said reassuringly. "The citizens are being evacuated as we speak, I'll take you to where they are!"

"No, I came to help!"

Just then Dylan saw more monsters drop from the sky. "Sonic, Incoming!" Sonic looked up.

"Uh-oh! Hang on tight, Dylan!" Then he started to run faster. Dylan hung on for dear life.

When the two broke through the gauntlet of monsters, Sonic set down Dylan. "You want to help?"

Dylan nodded. "Yeah. I may not be as strong as you, but if I'm going to be a hero, I have to start being one."

Sonic smiled. "Glad to have you. What say we show these bozos who they're dealing with?"

"Lead the way, Blue Blur!"

With that said, the two charged at the swarming horde. Sonic was zipping around, slamming Homing attacks like there was no tomorrow. Dylan's sword was slicing every monster within reach. Within seconds, the horde was destroyed. The two heroes ran into the city, taking out any monsters in their way.

They ran down a hillside to find a G.U.N. soldier being attacked by a single huge monster. "Come on Dylan, we got to help them." Sonic said. Defeating the monster was simple, all Sonic had to do was use a single homing attack to knock it down and Dylan grilled his face with a fireball. "Ha, that was easy." Sonic said. Dylan picked up a gun and tossed it back to the soldier, who saluted and left. Sonic then noticed a green jewel on the ground and picked it up "Alright a Chaos Emerald! This is sure to help us defeat these creatures." Sonic said. He then tossed it to Dylan.

"Here, take it."

Dylan was surprised. "You're…giving this to me?"

"Sure! I trust you. Now let's go!"

Dylan nodded and the two ran further into the city.

----

Meanwhile, from a rooftop, a cloaked figure was watching as Dylan and Sonic raced through the city, killing the monsters. He chuckled. "Ah, yes. It's been while, young boy, so long since I've heard your screams of terror, smelled your fear." He looked down, smiling. "I was only ever able to terrorize you while you slept, but now I'm free. Free to torment you without end!" He looked up again. "The time has come. The world will know that nightmares are REAL!" He laughed as he disappeared into thin air.

_I'm waiting for you, Dylan. Come and get me._

----

Dylan and Sonic were facing down another horde of monsters.. By the looks of the formation, it looked like they were trying to guard something from them. Sonic was able to peek though the wall a bit to see one holding the blue chaos emerald.

"Looks like they got to a chaos emerald." Sonic said.

Dylan smirked. "Then we'll just have to get it back."

The two charged. The monster attempted to shoot them down with energy blast from their claws, but missed as the heroes were moving too fast. Then the monster with the chaos emerald stepped forward. Using the power from the emerald, he fired a beam of energy at the heroes. They looked at the spot where the blast hit to see nothing but a small crater, causing them to think they had won. Big mistake.

"DO IT!"

"SONIC WIND!"

Several blade of wind sliced through the horde, wiping them out.

Dylan and Sonic land on their feet. Dylan had activated Chaos Control at the last minute.

"Wow, you've gotten stronger, Sonic."

"Thanks. You too, Dylan. You're definitely gonna be a hero to cheer for."

Dylan smiled, embarrassed.

Then a monster landed behind Sonic.

"SONIC LOOK OUT!"

Sonic spun around, but he didn't need to.

_VAROOM!!_

A motorcycle connected with the monster's head, bowling it over. A small black form holding a gun leaped from the bike while in the air and landed on it, putting a bullet in its head. It then looked at Sonic, irritated.

"Must I always save your skin, hedgehog?"

Sonic was ticked. "I would've dodged it! You need to lighten up, Shadow!"

Dylan was looking around. "Guys…"

"Hmph. You only have yourself to blame, hedgehog."

"Uh, guys…"

"Hey, don't give me that! You're always like this, you don't show any consideration for anyone else! No wonder you don't have any friends!"

"GUYS!"

Both hedgehogs glared at him. "WHAT!?"

"We're surrounded."

It was true. The trio were surrounded by monsters. As the trio were thinking of what to do, a figure walked up, wearing a cloak. The monsters parted to let it pass.

The figure looked at Dylan. "Well, well. It's been a long time. It's been so long since I've see your face, Dylan Mitchell."

Sonic and Shadow were surprised, but Dylan wasn't. "I don't know who you are, but I don't think we've ever met, so don't pull that trick."

The figure seemed to smile. "You don't remember me?" He pulled back his hood to reveal his face. "Maybe this will help."

Dylan' eyes widened as he looked at the figure's face. He froze in fear, a cold feeling trickling down his spine.


	16. Lord of Nightmares

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own stuff. Nothing else.

Chapter 16: Lord of Nightmares

Dylan was scared. No, scratch that, he was terrified.

"Wh-What's going on!?! You're not real! You can't be!"

The figure chuckled. "Let's see. If I'm not real, then I can't do THIS!"

He fired a blast of energy from his hand, taking out a nearby street sign.

Sonic was staring the figure down. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I apologize. You don't me yet I know you. Allow me to introduce myself. I am known in different ways. I am called the Lord of Nightmares, but I am better described as the embodiment of fear itself. You can call me Eclipse, for I have cast myself over many and have cherished their screams, tasted their fear. Dylan knows me because he is a frequent target. Don't blame him, though. I can't help it. He's just so easy to scare."

Sonic was ready to fight. "Well then, it's time to get it on! LET'S DO THIS!"

Sonic charged, but Eclipse calmly batted him aside. "Stand aside, Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm not here for you." He turned to Dylan, who was still frozen with fear. "If you intend to face me, don't. You cannot win."

Dylan raised his sword. "You're WRONG!"

He charged, swinging his sword to slice, but Eclipse disappeared, Dylan's sword slicing the air where he had been.

Eclipse's voice lingered. "You are merely human. You cannot face a god. Run and live in fear…"

Sonic looked at where Eclipse had disappeared. "I guess this means…welcome to the next level! Let's go, Dylan! Dylan?"

Dylan was looking down, a sad look on his face.

Sonic looked up at his friend. "Hey, don't listen to that guy. Don't let anybody put you down, man. Not even me. Okay?"

Dylan looked up at his friend, who had his signature smile on his face. Dylan smiled too. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks."

"If you two are done…"

Shadow was looking at the two, an impatient look on his face.

"Yeah, I know." More monsters started to surround them. Sonic moved in front of Dylan, ready to fight, until Shadow held his arm in front of him.

"Let me take care of this." He said. Sonic smirked.

"Heh. Sure thing Shadow, after all, I hope you haven't gotten any weaker since we last fought." He chuckled.

"Hmph, you wish, Hedgehog." Dylan saw him pull something from behind his back. It was a Chaos Emerald!

'_Where did he get one?!'_ Dylan wondered. He then raised his hand and murmured,

"Chaos Control!" And he disappeared for a millisecond, but appeared behind one of the monsters and gave it a punch to the face. He disappeared again, and kicked another, then another and another…

"Come on, let's catch up."

"Okay."

The two started running to catch up with the black hedgehog.

By the time they caught up, all the monsters had been taken out.

Sonic smirked. "I see you haven't lost your edge. I could've done better, though."

"Then why haven't these things fled yet?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you thought like that, Shadow. If ya don't think I'm all that, how 'bout a little competition?"

"Don't waste my--"

"DYLAN!"

Dylan turned around to see Sarah getting chased by another horde of monsters.

"HELP!"

`Dylan's response was immediate. He ran towards her, yelling, "SARAH, DROP!"

Sarah hit the ground.

"CHAOS…SHOTGUN!"

The blast of energy that blasted from Dylan's hand scattered the monsters. Some got blown apart, the rest were sent flying.

Dylan grabbed Sarah and ran back.

Sarah hugged her friend, completely scared out of her wits. "THANK GOODNESS! I GOT SEPARATED FROM YOUR MOTHER AND THEN I GOT CHASED BY THOSE THINGS I WAS SO SCARED!"

Dylan hugged her back. "It's okay. I'm right here. It's over."

Dylan turned to Sonic. "Can you get her to where everyone else is?"

"Don't worry, she's safe with me."

Sonic took off, Sarah in tow.

Dylan turned to Shadow, who knew what he was going to ask.

"Fine, I'll help find the Emeralds, but don't get in my way."

"Thanks, I guess."

They ran farther into the city.


	17. Fun in Eggmanland

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 17: Fun in Eggmanland

Dylan was running through the outskirts of the city, following Shadow. It wasn't the speed that was hard; it was the seemingly infinite amount of energy Shadow seemed to possess. They had been running for hours, taking out any enemies in the way, but Shadow was like a machine.

Finally Shadow came to a stop. Dylan stopped next to him, breathing hard.

Shadow was looking around. "Where's that damn CHAOS EMERALD?!" He said irritated.

"Don't ask me. Hey, do you think that maybe someone else has the Chaos Emerald or something? I think the emerald might be on the move."

"Well, it would explain why we're both having a tough time **finding** it."

"Hey, don't get angry. I'm only trying to help."

"Hmph. I didn't ask for it."

Dylan sighed and started walking. "How Rouge can put up with you I don't really know."

Dylan reached a cliff and looked out. What he saw made him do a double-take.

"Hey Shadow,"

"What is it now?"

"Am I seeing things or is that real?"

Shadow walked up and looked out.

It was a theme park. It was full of all sorts of rides and attractions, but there were signs saying "EGGMANLAND" everywhere, including a huge one at the entrance.

Dylan whistled. "Well, Eggman doesn't think small, now does he? Then again, I figured he'd do this sooner or later."

"There's a Chaos Emerald near by…" Shadow stated.

Wow. That was fast. "Are you sure?" Dylan asked excited.

"Peh. Of course I'm sure. Who do think you're talking to?" He took out his green Chaos Emerald, and as expected, it was slightly glowing. "It's pretty close by. Try to keep up." And he took off.

"What the--? HEY!" Dylan called out. "How am I supposed to keep up with you if I can't run as fast as you?!" Just then, he saw an object being hurled at him. Dylan's arm shot up by reflex and caught it. It was the blue Chaos Emerald. "Oh." Dylan pocketed the Emerald and started searching.

--5 minutes later—

"Dang it! This bites!"

Dylan had somehow gotten lost.

"Man, next time I'm buying a map! I have no sense of direction. Where the heck am I anyway?" Dylan then spotted a sign next to a building. "Finally, Eggman puts a map up!" Dylan walked over to it and began to read it. He blinked and read it again.

"Wha? _'Bye-bye' _What gives?" The speaker on the map then started laughing, sounding just like Eggman!

"**Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! You've found my trap! Now prepare to receive your prize!"**

A trap door opened up beneath Dylan. 'Not good!' He fell in.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He landed with a THUMP.

"Oof!"

Dylan got to his feet.

"Now where am I?"

Dylan didn't have to wait long for his answer.

"**Well, well, well!"** Suddenly, a giant screen light up with Eggman's face on it. **"So glad you could make it here, Sonic the Hedgehog!!"**

"Huh?" Dylan was confused. "Uh, I think you've got the wrong guy!"

Eggman kept rambling on. **"Welcome to one of my favorite attractions. I call it: THE FUN HOUSE! Now that you're here…"**

"HEY! I JUST SAID…Wait a second… that's not the _real_ Eggman, it's just a recording." Well, that would explain why he was rambling on and on. Dylan didn't pay attention half of the time about what he was saying. _'So, Eggman must've built this space as a trap for Sonic, but it looks like I got caught instead. But if that's just a recording… then where's the real deal? Hmm…'_

"**Let the games begin!!"** That brought him back to reality, sort of.

"HUH?! 'Games'? What games?!" Dylan shouted. I heard some strange robotic noise behind me. Dylan slowly turned around to see a giant robot! "OH, HECK NO!!!!" Dylan screamed as he tried to run away from it, but it grabbed him waist almost within a second. "AAACK!! LET ME GO!! **LET ME GO!!**" The robot started to whip Dylan around in a circle at a fast pace. 'Ahhh! I getting dizzy!'

Then he heard Eggman's voice again.** "What the-- Who set off my trap?! You idiots!! Can't you see that is NOT Sonic?!? SHUT IT OFF!!!!!!" **The machine came slowly to a stop.

Dylan broke free and hit the ground, still dizzy.

"Whooss…thhheeerree?"

"I should be asking you that!!" Roared Dr. Eggman. "Who do you think you are, sneaking into my base and setting a trap that wasn't meant for you to… Wait, do I know you? No, don't tell me… it was…. When was it…? Er… don't tell me…"

"You kidnapped me."

"Now I remember you're the kid!!" He pointed at Dylan accusingly.

Dylan. "Yep… that's me. 'The kid'. Glad you were able to remember that all by yourself…"

Eggman stood straight again, laughing slightly evilly. "Ho ho ho ho hooo! Well, I see that you've grown up a bit from last time. Guess you're not as 'kiddy' as I thought, eh?"

"Gee, thanks so much. Now what was with that crazy contraption that threw me around like a doll just now? Another revenge plot against Sonic?"

"It _was_… until **you** decided to drop in!"

"Yeah well sorry, but unlike you I'm on a mission, so goodbye."

Dylan turned to leave, but several robots with guns blocked his way out.

'_Crap.'_

"Oh, but I must insist, you haven't seen the rest of my park yet! Why don't I give you a little tour?" He grinned. "And who knows, if you're lucky we just might run into your little friends as well, then we can _catch up_."

'_He's going to use me as bait! I've got to think of a quick escape! C'mon… think… think… think of something!'_

He needn't have worried.

BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!

An explosion rocked the room. Dylan and Eggman were knocked off their feet. When Dylan got up, he saw that the robots had been trashed, and Shadow was standing in the hole he had made with a bazooka.

"Must I keep saving you?"

"Hey! I didn't plan this!"

"No, but you're obviously not quite ready to defend yourself in a situation like this!!" Shadow shot back. "You didn't even fire a Chaos attack!"

"Well, I'm not that good with Chaos yet! Chaos Control is hard enough! And aren't those attacks mostly_** long**_ range anyhow?!"

"That may be true, but if you're so bad with Chaos Control, I find it ironic that you can use it, idiot!"

"Sh-shut it!"

"Did **you** just tell me to 'Shut it', brat?!" Shadow snapped in a warning tone.

"You heard me!"

Eggman, watching all this, started edging towards the door.

As one, both Dylan and Shadow turned to him and yelled, "DON"T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"

Eggman stopped.

Shadow seemed to calm down a little. "Anyway, we can finish this later, kid. First things first." He turned to Eggman. "Doctor, would you mind explaining what is going on with this invasion?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. I haven't a clue what's going on."

Shadow loaded his bazooka, which made a clicking noise.

"That's the truth! I swear I don't know!

Shadow was still, and then put away the bazooka somewhat reluctantly. Dylan was too freaked out to wonder where he put it.

'_Man, I can't believe I just had an argument with that guy!'_

"Fine, then tell me what you DO know." Shadow said.

"Like I said, I know just about as much as you do. I really don't know the full story on the guy, who he is, or where he came from… but I believe he calls himself Eclipse. And apparently, or rather, obviously, he wants to take over the world."

Dylan jumped. "Eclipse!?!"

"You know him?"

"We had the pleasure of meeting him earlier." Said Shadow. "Continue."

"Anyway, that's how it's going to turn out… if we do not do something about it! I 'borrowed' two Chaos Emeralds to use their energy for a new weapon I was working on that would have probably destroyed him--"

"Wait, wait, wait." Dylan interrupted him. "_You_ have the Emeralds?" I was getting suspicious again.

Eggman sighed. "Yes, and I was going to use them to power the weapon, but you two had to meddle and take them away."

"Uh, how is that bad, Your Fatness?" Dylan accused him. Eggman stared at him.

"…Well, you certainly have gotten bolder, I'm surprised."

"…eh? What's that supposed to mean?"

Eggman ignored the question. "Sorry, but that's all I really know. It would be more helpful if you two could give me some information."

"Sorry, but like you said," Shadow took out his Chaos Emerald, "We only know as much as you do. We'll be going now." He stated plainly. The Chaos Emerald started to glow.

"Are you, now?" Eggman asked. "Hmph… well, it's not like I'm going to stop you, since you demolished the main computer when you blew up the wall." He grumbled. Dylan looked at the hole in the wall that Shadow had created. Apparently, there was room for a decent-sized computer. "But, don't worry, I'm sure we'll meet again." He said, with his usually evil smirk.

"Yes, we will." Shadow said, before teleporting both of us to a different destination. Dylan was anxious. 'How is he here? I don't get it. He shouldn't exist.'


	18. Breaking Point

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 18: Breaking Point

Shadow and Dylan landed in the middle of a rain forest. The canopy above blocked the view of the sun light, but Dylan was pretty sure it was almost dawn… almost dawn?! _'How much time has passed?' _thought Dylan?

"Hey uh, Shadow…"

"Are you alright?" Shadow cut him off.

Dylan looked at him, confused. He had expected Shadow to be angry. "Sorry?"

"Do I **need** to repeat myself?" Shadow sighed annoyed.

"No… it's… nothing. Yes, I'm fine." Dylan finally answered.

"And you still have the Chaos Emerald?" '_Gee, what a surprise he asked me that.'_

Dylan pulled it out. "Yeah, I…"

Shadow snatched it from his hand.

"HEY!"

"You seem to get into trouble even when you actually have a Chaos Emerald in your possession." Said Shadow.

Dylan was a little miffed. "Well excuse me for not being much of fighter. I'm still getting used to this!"

"Well, you seem to be a walking disaster waiting to happen. I'm not surprised that you're weak when it comes to fighting."

Dylan was about to retaliate, when…

WHAM!

Shadow was knocked to the ground by a figure from the shadows. Dylan charged forward, but the figure held up a hand.

"Easy, Dylan! Cool your jets!"

Dylan was surprised, and then he smiled.

"Nice to see you again Sonic."

Sonic gave a thumbs-up, and then he looked down at Shadow.

"I hope Shadow wasn't giving you a hard time?"

"Not really. He's just peeved that he had to help me out again."

Pushing Sonic off, Shadow got to his feet. "Humph. I see that you found us."

Sonic smirked. "It wasn't that hard actually. I used this."

He pulled out the blue Chaos Emerald and held it up.

"So what are you guys doing here?"

Dylan opened his mouth to speak but Shadow cut him off.

"None of your business, faker."

Dylan looked at Shadow. "Shadow, come on. He can help us out."

Shadow glared at Dylan.

Sonic shrugged. "I'm just wondering because it's certainly a coincidence that you two are here, especially at a time like this."

That caught Shadow's attention. "What's that supposed to mean?" Shadow questioned, and seemed to be slightly curious.

"G.U.N. is here in this forest to drive out those monster things, and there are quite a number of them, so I could really use some help taking them down."

"I see." Shadow mumbled.

Dylan thought for a moment. _'If the monsters are in this forest, than that must mean…'_ Dylan spoke up. "Hey, Sonic," Sonic turned towards Dylan. "Yeah?" She replied. I continued, "Is there a chance that a Chaos Emerald is in this forest, too? I think maybe that's why they're here."

Sonic nodded thoughtfully. "That would make sense. My emerald was glowing earlier."

Dylan turned towards Shadow. "Shadow, we should help him."

"I figured you'd say that…" Shadow replied. "What is with you and doing good deeds?"

"Hey, I'm trying to do what's right here. I swear, sometimes you are a pain in the…"

"DYLAN, DUCK!"

On instinct, Dylan hit the ground. Sonic had gone into ball mode and taken down a monster that was right behind him. _'Dang…! Is it just me, or am I experiencing too many close calls today?'_ Dylan got up, and watched as Sonic took down the monster.

Dylan heard a low growl from behind him. _'Oh crap!'_ He whirled around to see Shadow give another a taste of his metal footwear.

Dylan turned to Sonic and saw a monster attacking him from behind. Dylan didn't hesitate.

"VOLT BLAST!"

The huge bolt vaporized the monster on the spot. Sonic turned to see where it had been, then smiled at Dylan.

"Thanks!"

Dylan smiled back. "Same to you."

Sonic nodded, then looked around. "Looks like Shadow has gone on ahead. Let's go catch up."

"Right."

The two ran off. It wasn't hard to find where Shadow went. He kept leaving behind monsters he had defeated. Most of them had bullet holes in them, but some were apparently beaten to the ground in a style similar to how Knuckles would've done it.

"You think that Shadow might try to take them all out on his own?"

"I dunno, Dylan, but if I know Shadow, he might be a little reckless."

"A little?"

Sonic was about to explain when they heard a shout.

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

Dylan and Sonic found Shadow in a clearing… fighting a huge monster that took up most of the clearing. It had two sets of claw-like hands and was clearly angry. "That thing is HUGE!" Dylan exclaimed as he screeched to a halt.

Sonic turned to Dylan. "Stay here!" He then bolted out into the clearing to help Shadow. Dylan watched the fight, unable to move.

Sonic was running circles around the monster while Shadow was leaping from branch to branch; stopping occasionally to fire what looked like an assault rifle at the monster's head. Dylan's guess was that they were trying to make it drop its guard, then attack. _'Yeah!' _he cheered in his mind. _'Go Sonic and Shadow!!'_

Suddenly, the monster inhaled a large amount of air, and started to spit out fireballs.

Sonic zigzagged to avoid the fireballs, but Shadow was knocked out of the tree he was in. He hit the ground, losing his gun. The monster started inhaling again to finish the job. Sonic leapt up to stop it, but was knocked aside by a hand.

Dylan didn't even think. He charged his attack and let it fly.

"VOLT BLAST!"

The bolt struck the monster's head, but unlike its smaller brethren, it hardly fazed him. It did, however, get his attention. The monster turned and saw Dylan.

'_Crap.'_

The monster roared and charged. Dylan tried to run, but the monster caught up with two huge steps and picked him up with one hand. It raised him to eye level as if curious about what he was. Dylan fired another Volt Blast at his huge eye. This one did damage, as the monster shrieked and dropped Dylan, hands holding its head as if in pain. Sonic caught Dylan before he hit the ground.

"Is Shadow…?" Dylan started to ask, but then Shadow ran up, no injuries on him. "Oh, good."

"What did you do that for!?! I had him right where I wanted him!"

Dylan, angry at Shadow, yelled back, "I just saved your life! The least you could do is be thanking me for it!"

"Well next time don't interfere, idiot!"

Dylan was about to get angry, but calmed himself. He didn't know what would happen if he let himself go. "Whatever."

"Hmm. So that didn't work, huh? Fine: you are** weak, pathetic**, and you can't do **ANYTHING** without almost killing himself."

That did it. '_Screw the consequences!'_

"**HOW DARE YOU!!!!" **Dylan yelled in rage. Dylan thrust his hand forward and fired at will.

Shadow dodged it, as expected of him. The shot, to Dylan's surprise, hit the monster instead.

What was more surprising was that the shot took off its head without any resistance.

The monster didn't even have time to roar in pain. It just simply… fell to the forest floor…dead.

Dylan, shocked out of his mind, knelt down, sitting on his legs.

'_What's…What's going on? Am I...Am I still me? Or am I…Something else?"_

Shadow stepped. "Dylan, we're leaving, come on." His hand was trying to grab Dylan's arm. I flinched away.

"…Don't touch me." Dylan murmured.

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Look, this isn't a good time to get upset. We're going to find the next Emerald, so we,"

"That's all you ever _care_ about, huh?" You don't even have time to think about anything else but that. Tricking me to get angry like that and kill that monster…" Dylan started to choke on his words, then he finally yelled. "Why did you do that?!"

"I wanted to see your powers true potential." He said. "It was…"

Dylan finished his sentence. "'It was the only way.' Oh, but did you _consider_ perhaps _**asking me?!?**_ Of course not! Because you only care about yourself!! You only cared about how my_ POTENTIAL_ would be helpful to YOU!!"

Shadow was getting almost as frustrated as Dylan was, but was trying to keep his composure. "And making me out as the bad guy isn't going to make things better. Suck it up, and let's get going before,"

Sonic tried to interrupt. "Uh, guys…" But he couldn't stop it, as Dylan finally blew up.

BEFORE WHAT!?! BEFORE I STOP LISTENING TO EVERY SINGLE THING YOU SAY?!?"

"Wha…?!" Shadow stepped back.

"YOU NEVER THOUGHT HOW I WOULD FEEL, DID YOU?! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!!! AND YOU'RE A BIGGER JERK THAN I THOUGHT YOU'D BE!! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT FEELS LIKE, SUDDENLY GETTING A POWER YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR!! I…I…"

Dylan stalled for a second before it finally came out.

"I CAN KILL, OKAY?!?! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!?! THAT'S WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF… AND I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND IT!!!! NOT ONE BIT!! IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR?!?"

Shadow was shocked. He couldn't even move.

"**LEAVE ME ALONE**!" yelled Dylan as he ran off.

Shadow stayed where he was. He looked like he got hit by a semi.

"Nice one Shadow."

Shadow turned towards Sonic, who looked a little annoyed.

"I know you're a loner, but you went too far. Dylan isn't you. He can't do things that you can yet!"

"Then why didn't _you_ do something?!"

"I was going to, but I remembered that you hardly ever listen to me anyway. Now, I'm going after Dylan. Don't get in my way right now."

With that Sonic took off, leaving Shadow behind. Shadow sat and began to think.

-------

Dylan had run until he came to a city. It looked like a fight had occurred just recently. _'Dang Shadow! Why is he like that all the time!'_

Dylan stopped and looked around. "Whoa. What happened here?"

"Ah, I see you made it.

Dylan turned around. There, in the middle of the intersection, stood the bane of Dylan's dreams, an evil clone of him.

"I was wondering when you'd show up."

"ECLIPSE!"


	19. First Showdown

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 19: First Showdown

Dylan glared at Eclipse. "What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Eclipse chuckled. "I was looking for the Chaos Emeralds. That should be obvious. As to the 'how' question, why, you brought me here."

"WHAT?!"

"Indirectly, you did. When your power was awakened, some of it seeped into your mind, opening it and setting me free, which I thank you for." He did an elegant bow as he said the last part.

Dylan looked around. "You…did all this?"

"The people were less than willing to cooperate, so I had my minions give them a reason to."

Dylan clenched his fists in anger.

"How…how could you?"

He pointed a finger at Eclipse.

"How could you do something like that!? Anything with a good name on it can't bring such destruction!"

"What about Dark Link? And Dark Metaknight? And all those metallic versions of Sonic?"

"Real funny."

"Besides, sacrifices must be made to achieve some goals. In my case, it would be establishing my place as the ruler of this and every other world."

"At this cost?! Tormenting the lives of innocent people?!"

"Of course, and here the best part…"

Eclipse clenches his fist as he starts glowing.

"All this power has come from my newly received freedom and free will."

He pointed a finger at Dylan. "How ironic. Your destiny is to be a hero, but you have unleashed an evil. You created me; therefore you are responsible for all this pain and suffering, the very thing that you fight to prevent.

Dylan smirked. "Normally I would be impressed. You don't mince words and you don't give long speeches on how you will win and take over. You hit right where it hurts. But you forgot one thing."

Dylan drew his sword.

"As a hero, I fight for the greater good, and you definitely aren't good, so BRING IT ON!"

Dylan charged, but Eclipse created a blade out of energy and blocked the slice. He then swatted Dylan aside like a fly.

Dylan hit the dirt and got back up charging an attack.

"FIRE!"

Dylan threw a fireball, but Eclipse stuck his palm out.

"DARK SHOT!"

A ball of darkness shot from his hand to connect with the fireball.

BOOM

The explosion rocked the battlefield, but Dylan charged through the smoke, throwing lightning bolts.

Eclipse dodged some of the bolts, blocking the last one, and took to the air, a shield forming around him. Dylan threw a Lighting, then a Fireball.

"You can't hide behind that shield forever!"

"Fine by me!"

Eclipse swooped down swinging his sword. Dylan was knocked off his feet, his sword flying from his hand. Dylan quickly picked it up and got to his feet to block another strike.

"You're…stronger. How?"

"I am free now. Your mind no longer holds me in check."

Dylan dodged a Dark Shot and pulled out his Emerald.

"Play time is over! CHAOS CONTROL!"

Time slowed down as Dylan lunged at Eclipse and unleashed a powerful barrage of punches, focusing his energy into his fists. He ended the combo with powerful kick, charged up his strongest attack and let it fly.

"CHAOS…SHOTGUN!"

The attack sent Eclipse sailing into a building. Eclipse reappeared a few seconds later in a shroud of darkness.

"Impressive. You're stronger than I thought."

"Got that right. Thanks to this Chaos Emerald, time and space are at my command! You're done!"

Eclipse chuckled. "Really?"

He fired a Dark Shot at Dylan, hitting him in the arm. The Emerald sailed into his hand.

"Now then…farewell!"

He started to glow.

Dylan was shocked. '_Oh crap'_

"DARK STORM!"

A dark cloud appeared above Dylan and struck him with bolts of dark energy. Dylan screamed as he hit again and again.

When the storm ended, Dylan was on the ground, bleeding in several places. Eclipse stepped up to him, the emerald in his hand.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen. But I knew I would win in the end. This ends now!"

Eclipse's hand with the emerald started to glow.

"Goodbye, Dylan Mitchell. Rest in pieces!"

Dylan couldn't move. _'Is this how it ends?'_

Eclipse raised his hand, then…

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

A black streak slammed into Eclipse, sending him flying into a building, the crash causing the building to collapse around him.

Dylan felt himself being moved. He looked into the face of Shadow the Hedgehog.

"Shadow…you…"

"Quiet. Save your strength."

"But…how…" was all Dylan could get out before he lost consciousness.

-----

Shadow quickly assessed Dylan's injuries. They weren't serious, but they needed to be treated.

He picked up Dylan and took off running. He needed to get him back to G.U.N. HQ quickly.

He hadn't gone far when he ran back into Sonic. "HEY! What happened to Dylan?!"

Shadow raised a hand to stop him. "I could explain things, but I doubt you'd believe me. Right now Dylan needs medical attention. Will you help me?"

Sonic seemed to study Shadow for a second, then nodded. The two took off running in the direction of Station Square.


	20. Reconcilations and the Search Begins

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 20: Reconciliations and the Emerald Search Begins

Dylan woke up to find himself in what looked like a hospital bed. Still a little sleepy, he looked around.

'_Looks like I'm back at G.U.N. But who brought me here? I remember Shadow but…'_

He was snapped to full awareness by a thud and shout…

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME, YOU CRAZY WOMAN!"

Dylan recognized Shadow's voice. Then another voice spoke up, one that was unfamiliar.

"Shadow-san, please hold still. That wound needs to be looked at."

"I'm fine, it's nothing! I've had worse!"

"Shadow, just let her look! You're so tense! No wonder you don't have many friends!"

"_Don't_ lecture me, Sonic."

Dylan was wondering what was going on when the door opened.

"Oh, you're awake."

"Tsunade! What are you doing here?"

The blonde ninja walked over and started to check Dylan's healed wounds. "That black hedgehog Shadow brought you in here. He was insistent on you getting medical attention. I was asked to come and help."

"Oh. Shadow brought me here?"

"Yes. He wanted to speak with you when you woke up. Shizune is tending to him right now. That Mario person is helping Sonic."

Dylan nodded. "I see. Can I see them?"

Tsunade thought for a moment. "With a normal person I would insist on bed rest, but you seem to heal faster than normal. I will take you."

She helped Dylan out of the bed and the two walked into the next room.

Shadow was sitting on the bed. A young, dark haired woman was holding a glowing hand over Shadow's wound, healing it. Dylan guessed that to be Shizune. Mario was dressed in a doctor's get up, bandaging Sonic's arm while Naruto and Luigi watched. Sonic and Naruto were clearly impressed.

"Okay, I knew you were a plumber and hero, but…you're a doctor too!? Cool!"

Mario smiled at the praise.

"So, how's my arm? Is it alright?"

"It's a gonna be okey-dokey, Sonic."

"Well, that's good to know. How about Dylan?"

Dylan spoke up. "Ask him yourself."

Everyone looked up. Shadow saw Dylan and looked somewhat melancholy.

Naruto stood up. "HEY DYLAN! I knew you'd be alright! Granny's the best at medical ninjitsu."

Dylan's eyebrow shot up. "Who?!"

"He's referring to me, Dylan." Said Tsunade. "Once he heard that I was over 50, he's called me that ever since."

"You're over 50? I…didn't notice."

"That's nice of you, but it's true. Anyway, now that you're taken care of…"

Tsunade looked at Dylan, her face turning serious.

"I need to know about this Eclipse character. He apparently knows you."

Dylan felt everyone focusing on him and sighed.

"Alright, but it may take a while."

He sat down in an empty chair and looked at everyone else.

"Eclipse…he isn't like you or me. He is a dream-like being, most likely because he originates from _my_ dreams. Before you ask, let me explain. When I was younger, I dreamed of being a hero, traveling, seeing the world, and other care-free kinds of dreams. As I got older, my dreams, well, evolved, you could say. Bad guys like Bowser or Dr. Eggman would appear and try to take over the world. I would take it upon myself to defeat the bad guy. Since it my dream, I always won. Then, when I was twelve, you could say that I started creating enemies to fight. Most of them were darker versions of me. Then, _he_ came into being: Eclipse, the Lord of Nightmares, a perfect adversary. Somehow, he had something that the others didn't, some drive that fueled him. No matter how many times I defeated him, he seemed to come back, even stronger, until he truly became my nightmare. He vanished from my mind a year before I wound up in Mobius. Unfortunately, when my power was restored, he was somehow set free, and was given a solid form. The dream had become a reality."

Dylan paused before continuing.

"I first saw him in Station Square about a day ago I think. Later I met him again what looked like Central City. His intention is to use the Chaos Emeralds to rule the world with an iron fist. And I was the only thing standing in his way. I confronted him, and faced off against him in a one-on-one fight. I gave it my all, but unlike in my dreams, I was tossed aside by his newfound power. I could only watch as he prepared to destroy me. However, Shadow came to the rescue, which I thank him for."

Dylan smiled at Shadow, who just nodded.

"But now Eclipse has one of the Chaos Emeralds, and he won't stop until he has all seven. He had laid Central City to waste searching for them."

Shizune looked sad. "That's…awful."

"It is, and it won't end there. Once he conquers Mobius, he'll go to the other worlds and conquer them. Nothing will stop him."

Dylan stood up.

"I might not be strong enough, but I have to stop him. If he gets all seven emeralds, he'll be too strong to defeat."

He went for the door, but felt someone grab his hand. It was Shadow.

"Dylan, I…I want to go with you."

Dylan looked down at him, confused.

"Shadow?"

"I want to help you retrieve the emeralds and take him down. Let me make things up to you, Dylan. You can't go alone. Let me help."

Dylan smiled. "Thanks…buddy."

"Don't call me buddy."

Dylan chuckled. "Sorry."

Naruto stood up. "Hold on! Count me in too! I want a piece of the action!"

"You…You're sure?"

"YOU BET! Naruto Uzumaki, Most Knuckleheaded Ninja In Konoha, at your service!"

Dylan smiled and turned towards Mario and Luigi. "What about you two? You think you're up to the challenge?"

The two brothers looked at each other. Then they each pulled out an ordinary feather and threw them upwards. They both leaped up and each grabbed a feather, becoming Cape Mario and Cape Luigi. They both struck a pose in midair.

"MARIO!"

"LUIGI!"

Both flipped and landed. They struck the same pose.

"SUPER MARIO BROTHERS!"

Dylan chuckled. "Thanks. You guys are just SO awesome."

CRASH

A crash rocked the room, knocking everyone who was up off their feet.

Sonic was confused. "What was that?!"

Dylan bolted through the door. "Let's go find out!"

------

When everyone reached the hangar, they found a crash site. Following the smoke Dylan saw what looked like a giant vaccum cleaner crashed into the wall. Two figures were getting up from the wreckage. One was Tails. The other was a short man with swirly glasses and a lab coat.

Tails waved to Sonic. "Hi Sonic. Sorry about that."

The man nodded to the Mario Brothers. "Greetings Mario and Luigi. Sorry about the mess. My new Poultergust still has few bugs."

Dylan smiled. "Professer E Gadd, I presume?"

Gadd turned to Dylan. "And the Destined. Oh my, this is a privilege."

"What brings you here Doc?"

"Well, word came to Master Tails and myself that an evil entity intended to swipe these Chaos Emeralds, so we put our heads together to give the good guys an advantage that should speed your victory. BEHOLD!"

He reached into his coat and pulled out…

"…A Game Boy Advance?"

Gadd chuckled. "Not just any Game Boy Advance. Behold, the GBA Emerald Locator!"

Naruto laughed. "A game radar? Is this a joke?"

Gadd simply chuckled. "Mock me if you will, but it takes a genius to make a device such as this. But I ramble. Let me show you how it works."

He clicked a button and held it up so everyone could see. An emerald was on the screen and the GBA with making a Ping like a radar.

"We designed this radar to lock onto the emerald's unique energy signature. I'm sure this cut the time down on your search."

He gave it to Dylan, who was surprised and excited. "Thanks Prof! Finding the emeralds will be a cinch with this!"

He then noticed the emerald on the radar. He clicked a few buttons.

"What is it Dylan?"

"Strange…the radar is picking up an emerald in this room!"

Everyone except Tails and Gadd were surprised. Tails smiled and pulled out a yellow Emerald.

Everyone gasped. "A Chaos Emerald!?" yelled Shadow.

Tails laughed. "We used this to make the radar. It wasn't easy though."

Gadd nodded. "It is quite intriguing. I would ask to study it a little longer, but you need it more than me."

Tails handed it to Shadow.

Dylan looked at the radar again. He jumped a little, and started pressing buttons. "I got another one! It's to the east of here!"

Shadow nodded. "Then let's get moving!"

Dylan nodded and the two were out the door like a shot.

"HEY! WAIT UP!" yelled Naruto.

"You better go after them." said Tsunade. "We'll hold down the fort here."

Mario nodded. "Okay. Let's a go!"

Mario went through the door and took off. Luigi and Naruto followed him.


	21. The Metal Trio

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 21: The Metal Trio

Dylan and Shadow came to a grassy plain with a few trees and a mountain in the distance. Hiding behind a tree, Dylan checked the radar. "Looks like we found it." He looked at Shadow, who was looking at the clearing.

"What is it?"

"Take a look."

Dylan looked. In the clearing, to Dylan's surprise, was metal versions of Team Sonic. They had apparently found the emerald first.

"Well done you two. First objective complete."

"Heh. One down, six to go."

"Quiet. You're almost like your weaker counterpart."

"CARE TO REPEAT THAT!?"

"SILENCE, both of you."

Dylan looked at Shadow. "Great, Eggman's little goon squad beat us to it. Now what?"

Shadow smirked. "We take it back." With that, he strode towards them.

Dylan stared, and then shrugged, running to catch up. _'Whatever.'_

"HEY! BOLT HEADS!"

The trio turned to the two heroes.

"Who are you?"

"None of your concern!" snapped Shadow. "Hand over the Emerald and you won't need a trip to the shop!"

"What he said!" added Dylan.

"HEY! Don't forget us!"

Naruto and the Mario Bros. came running up. Dylan smiled.

"About time."

"You're not taking all the fun, you two!"

Metal Sonic chuckled. "Ah, you all want to play. I will enjoy this, especially with you Shadow, you who humiliated me in our last fight."

Shadow smirked. "That makes two of us. Bring it on."

The two sides charged.

Dylan and Shadow were dealing with Metal Sonic. Shadow slowed him down with Chaos Control long enough for Dylan to connect with a Volt Blast. Shadow followed that with a Chaos Spear. Metal was slammed into several trees. Dylan and Shadow charged after him.

Mario and Luigi were using their tag-team skills to dodge Metal Tails' missiles. "Resistance is futile." said Metal Tails as he fired another wave. The two brothers hopped up the missiles and slammed the metal fox with their hammers. The fox hit the ground, but got up quickly.

Naruto and Metal Knuckles were staring each other down. "Surrender human. You can't beat me."

Naruto was unmoved. "NO WAY! You're going down, you tin can! Believe it!"

"HAHAHAHAHA! Oh really?! You and what army!?"

Naruto's grinned and made a handsign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Several waves of Narutos appeared next to the original. MetalKnux's laughter ceased abruptly.

"Uh-oh."

"LET"S GET HIM!"

The Narutos converged on him.

Dylan and Shadow were dodging Metal Sonic's laser blast. The first combo made Metal angry and he was attempted to make several holes in both of them.

"Dang it! We can't get close enough to attack!"

Dylan was angry too, but then an idea entered his head. "Then we bring him to us! Follow my lead!"

Dylan bolted up a tree and started waving his arms.

"HEY! SONIC WANNABE!"

Metal put on the brakes, confused.

"WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE SONIC? ARE YOU A FAN, OR DO YOU HAVE TO COPY HIM BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO POWER OF YOUR OWN?!"

That hit Metal too close to home. "**HOW DARE YOU HUMAN**!" Forgetting he had weapons, he charged at Dylan claws first.

Dylan jumped down. Metal followed to find Dylan and Shadow, each with a hand on their yellow Chaos Emerald.

Both were glowing red.

"AW CRA…"

"CHAOS BLAST!"

The blast sent Metal flying to land in a heap.

Mario and Luigi were trying to keep up with Metal Tails' attacks. Since the first combo The metal fox had sent its missiles in more erratic patterns. The brothers looked at each other. It was time for an old classic.

Mario nodded to Luigi, who ran in front of Mario.

"CHOPPER BROS!"

Mario hammered Luigi into the ground.

Metal Tails was confused. _'Why did he attack his friend?'_

Then the ground started shaking.

WHAM

Luigi burst up from under Metal Tails, hitting it with a lightning-charged Super Jump Punch.

Metal Tails hit the ground near Metal Sonic, sparking electricity. Metal Knuckles joined them a few seconds later with dent on almost every part of his body.

The five heroes looked down at their fallen enemies.

"Ready to call it quits?"

Metal Sonic got up. "Not just yet. OMEGA FORMATION!"

Both of the other bots got up and stepped to either side. It looked like the Power formation.

Dylan was surprised. "A special attack?"

Shadow tensed. "This isn't good."

The three robot started glowing. Then Dylan felt a huge surge of energy from them.

"GUYS! LOOK OUT!"

They tried to dodge, but the Metal Trio slammed into them, sending the quintet into several trees before they landed.

The Metal Trio landed.

"That's strange." said Metal Sonic. "The attack should not have been that strong."

Metal Knuckles looked at himself. "WHOA! We're repaired!"

"Indeed. It seems our Chaos Emerald is the cause."

Metal Tails walked up, carrying the yellow emerald. "Another emerald is collected. We should gather the rest now."

Metal Sonic nodded. "Yes, let's go."

The trio ran off, leaving the heroes behind.


	22. Island Insanity

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 22: Island Insanity

Dylan woke up a little light-headed from the attack he and the others had been hit with.

'_Whoa, what happened? My head hurts big time.'_

"Finally you're awake."

Dylan looked up to see Shadow standing next to him. He looked like he always did, but Dylan thought he saw a relieved look on Shadow's face.

"Hey Shadow, what happened?"

"Long story short, we lost. They wiped us out with that attack and took our Emerald."

Dylan looked down (as in the emotion, not literally). "Man, I guess that attack was stronger than we thought."

Shadow shook his head. "No, it wasn't them; it was the Chaos Emerald they had. It gave them an extra boost of power. I don't think they knew either, but they do now."

Dylan nodded. "Where is everyone else?"

"They're fine. Luigi looked a little dazed, but Mario said that he has had worse."

"I see."

Dylan turned to see Mario, Luigi and Naruto explaining things to Tails who had shown in his plane, the Tornado 2.

Tails looked up at Dylan. "Hey, Dylan! I just got told what happened. Looks like you guys didn't do so well."

"Yeah, we lost our Emerald. We're not in the best standing now."

Tails smiled. "Don't worry. It's not gone for good. Just use the radar to track it down."

Dylan smiled. "Hey you're right!" He pulled out the radar and pressed a few buttons. The screen lit up, letting off a pair of PING sounds.

"Okay, we have two emeralds in range, and one is moving towards the other."

Tails walked over and looked at the screen. "Let's see…the still emerald is 240 miles due southwest. Wait one moment."

Tails ran back to his plane and hopped in the pilot's seat.

"Okay I'll just put in the coordinates in my onboard computer and… got it!"

Tails turned to the group.

"The third emerald is currently on Prison Island."

Dylan was shocked. "Prison Island?! There!?"

"You all right Dylan?" asked Naruto.

"I'm fine. It's just that Prison Island was once blown up. I forgot it was rebuilt."

Shadow nodded. "No doubt that is where those tin cans are going."

Tails nodded in agreement. "Most likely."

Dylan was thoughtful. "So how do we get there? It's in the middle of the ocean."

Tails smiled. "Don't worry. I'll take you guys in the Tornado."

"You're coming with us?"

"Of course. Eggman might have a trap there. You'll need help to get past them."

"All right then, let's move." said Shadow. "Let's get there before they do!"

Everyone boarded the Tornado. Dylan and Naruto took the seats behind Tails while Shadow and the Mario brothers perched on the wings. Tails gunned the motor and they were off.

-----

They landed in the forest area of the island. Mario and Naruto looked around while Tails explained about the island.

"Prison Island is a military base and prison, hence the name. We're in the forest section of the island, but the base should be close by."

Shadow looked around. "Well, we can't play around. Let's get the Emerald. Dylan, the radar."

Dylan nodded. "Right."

As he, Shadow, Tails and Mario were examining the radar, Luigi noticed something in the bushes that was reflecting the sun. He pulled back the foliage and gave a shout.

"GUYS!"

Mario and Tails walked over and saw what Luigi had found.

"Wow! The Chaos Emerald! What luck!"

Dylan smiled. "For sure. I'm surprised it was so easy."

"Well, let's not question it."

With that, Tails hurried over the get the Emerald.

Dylan started to follow, but Shadow caught his wrist.

"Dylan, something isn't right here."

Dylan looked at Shadow, confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"…Can you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"Energy. Can you feel any? Like that surge you no doubt felt from the Metal robots' attack?"

Dylan focused but nothing happened. "No…nothing."

"Exactly. We both possess the ability to sense energy signatures in both living and non-living things from a distance. Like the Chaos Emeralds. However, that emerald is less than 50 yards away and neither of us sense anything."

Dylan tensed. "For real? That can only mean…"

He was cut off by a shout. Both turned and ran up. Tails had sprung a trap and caught up in a net.

"Um…a little help please?"

Naruto pulled out a kunai. "Hang on Tails, I'll have down in a second!" He walked up the tree, shocking everyone a little, and started to cut Tails loose.

Shadow picked up the Emerald. "HAH! I knew it! This IS a fake!"

"Really!?"

"Yeah, and not a good one either. I'd say that someone just cut a polished a normal emerald to look the same as one of the seven, but I'm no expert. I'm just glad that Rouge isn't here."

"She wouldn't like it?"

"Hmph. She is like the echidna when she gets mad."

Mario was confused. "This a makes no sense. Who would a leave fake jewels the middle of a forest?"

Shadow was about to answer when…

CHICK-CLICK!

Everyone jumped. "What was that?"

CHICK-CLICK!

CHICK-CLICK!

CHICK-CLICK!

Everyone looked around. Soldiers were coming out of the shadows of the trees and bushes, armed with what looked like automatic weapons.

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

A huge walker stomped into the clearing. It was armed and ready to fire.

"That thing is HUGE!" yelled Naruto.

"What is going on?" asked Dylan.

One of the soldiers stepped forward. "Trespassers! In the name of the Guardian Units of Nations, you are under arrest!"

Shadow stepped forward. "Stop. I am Shadow the Hedgehog, GUN agent. We're on an official mission."

The soldier aimed his gun at Shadow. "Stand down, monster! We won't be tricked again!"

Dylan imposed between the two.

"STOP! We don't want to fight!"

"MOVE, BOY!"

Things were about to get hairy, when…

"SOLDIER! STAND DOWN!"

The soldier in question stopped and moved aside. The rest parted to let someone else through. He was an officer, a decorated one.

"Who are you? Identify yourselves."

Shadow stepped forward. "I am Shadow, GUN agent."

The officer was surprised. "Shadow!?"

He looked closer, disbelief on his face.

"It really is you! I'm surprised. Do you remember me?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Can't say I do."

"I didn't think so. I am Captain Miller of GUN. I was only a private back then, but I remember you. You saved my life in the Black Arms invasion. I've gotten a few promotions since then, but I never forgot."

Shadow nodded. "I remember saving several soldiers, but I never remembered names."

"So what are you doing here?"

Shadow explained about Eclipse and their mission to find the Emeralds.

"I see. In that case, would you mind helping us?"

"Huh?"

Miller gestured to the soldiers. "We were attacked not long before you came here. You see, a patrol found a Chaos Emerald a few days ago. Upon its return, we contacted Main H.Q. They replied to hold onto it until a team was sent to get it. So we waited. Two days later, Sonic Tail and Knuckles showed up, or so we thought."

Dylan's eyes widened. "The Metal Trio!"

"Well, whoever they were, they requested to see it. Thinking they were sent by GUN, we gladly did so. However, they weren't the heroes after all. They captured almost all our men with a robot army made by Eggman."

"Eggman too?"

"Yep. The soldiers here are the only free ones. the rest are at the base. We set that trap there to get Eggman. I apologize for the mix-up."

Shadow nodded. "Don't worry. Anyway, if we help you out, can we have the Emerald?"

"Gladly. Help us out and it's yours."

"All right. Lead the way."

----

The base was filled with soldiers. Robots were scattered around them, standing guard. There was no sign of Eggman or the Metal Trio.

Miller was crestfallen. "We tried to free them before, but we had limited manpower. We were forced back."

Shadow nodded. "Understood. Keep your men back. Leave them to us."

Dylan nodded. "Yeah, we'll get them!"

Miller turned to Dylan. "What are you doing here kid?"

"This is Dylan Mitchell, the Destined. His mother is a special agent in GUN."

"No fooling? You don't look like much."

Dylan scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Heh heh, I am still learning the ropes, but I'm no pushover."

"All right then. Since we can't see any big enemies, this is a good chance to strike."

"Right. "LET'S MOVE!"

Dylan shot out of the brush with Shadow and the rest on his heels.

Dylan sliced the robot closest to him and threw a Lightning at another. He then spun around and threw his sword to peg a third in the head. He pulled it out as he ran by.

Shadow was warping constantly, smashing one after the other in a chain of attacks.

Mario and Luigi were pounding robots with their hammers, leaving behind robots with their heads smashed into their chests.

Naruto was using his clones to strike in waves, smashing robots in their wake.

Before long, the bot army was gone and Tails along with Miller and his crew were freeing the captives.

"Is that everyone?"

"Yep. Everyone is present and accounted for. Thank you for your help."

"Don't thank us yet." said Dylan. "There is still Eggman and those robots to deal with. Not to mention the…"

"CHAOS EMERALD!"

Dylan spun around to see Luigi pointing at a sparkling jewel on the air field.

"I GOT IT!"

Dylan zoomed forward and caught it up…

…to have it snatched out his hand by a blue blur.

"Yoink." Said Metal Sonic.

Dylan's friends joined him. "Found you!" Said Dylan."Hand that over!"

Metal Sonic's cronies appeared next to him.

"Lookee here, it's the guys we creamed earlier." said Metal Knux.

"You're not getting away this time!" yelled Dylan.

Shadow entered a fighting stance. "You got lucky last time, but you won't fluke another victory. Hand over the Emeralds if you don't want to be turned to scrap!"

Metal Sonic chuckled and pointed his claw upwards. "Well then, why don't we even the odds?"

Luigi looked up.

"MAMMA MIA!"

Dylan looked at Luigi. "What's up?"

Luigi pointed up.

The heroes look at where he is pointing and to their shock, they see a huge battleship in the sky. They also see two figures on it and they both jump off and land on each side of the metal trio.

One was a metal version of Shadow. The other was a metal version of Amy.

"Great." said Dylan. "Metal Amy and Metal Shadow."

"That's MECHA Shadow, human." said Mecha Shadow.

Miller ran up to Shadow. "It's them! Those are the ones responsible?"

"So these are the culprits?" Shadow asked and the captain nods.

"No Problem, just leave them to us!" Naruto said.

Shadow took a stance. "I suggest you give up now. We're not leaving without those Emeralds."

"Then in that case, we will fight you all for it! Winner takes all!"

Dylan smirked. "Just don't blink or you'll miss the moment of your defeat."

Tails ran up. "Captain! Eggman's army has showed up!"

Miller nodded and turned to Shadow. "We'll keep the rest off your back. We're counting on you."

Shadow nodded. "Understood."

Miller and Tails raced back to the soldiers while Dylan and the other heroes charged at the five robots.


	23. Good vs Evil: The Island Battles

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 23: Good vs. Evil: The Island Battles Part 1

When the fight started, it changed into one-on-one fights. However, two of the bots broke away and surrounded Dylan.

"Surrender human! You can't win!" Metal Knux shouted at Dylan.

"There is no way you get defeat us." Metal Tails said.

"Not gonna happen!" Dylan said bravely.

The villains charged at Dylan and when they got to him, there was a huge fog of dust. Dylan was the first one to jump out and took off at full speed. "Catch me if you can!"

The two robots jumped out of the fog and started chasing him, while flying using the jet boosters under their bodies. Metal Tails attached to Metal Knux's back while Metal Knux started spinning his fists like a huge powered screwdriver. Dylan focused energy to his feet to run faster and jumped on a huge rock and jumped from it over their attack, dodging by millimeters, and the bots bored through the big rock, grinding it to bits.

Dylan threw Fireballs rapid fire but Metal Amy blocked them with her hammer. Then he got an idea. _'If she a copy of Amy then…'_

"Hey look, it's Metal Sonic."

Amy's metallic eyes widened. "WHERE?!" She spun around only to get a Volt Blast to the back.

'_Man, thank you, Yuji Naka.'_

Dylan ran back but Mecha Shadow appears out of nowhere. Before Mecha can strike, Shadow appears and kicks him into a storage tank.

"Dylan, leave this one to me!" Shadow told him.

"What? But-"

"I will be fine. GO!" Shadow cut Dylan off.

Dylan nodded and turned to the forest, while Shadow faced off with Mecha.

"Fool. You can't beat me."

"Hmph. This world can only handle one faker, so you'll have to go."

The two charged at each other.

Naruto was dealing with Metal Sonic, who had just knocked the two plumbers into several trees.

The two were trading punches until Metal caught Naruto's fist and threw him into another tank. Naruto got up and made a handsign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A clone appeared next to Naruto, who held out his hand. The clone rapidly moved his hand over Naruto's, making what looked like a ball of chakra.

Metal Sonic charged, but Naruto shoved the completed ball into Metal's chest.

"RASENGAN!"

The attack sent Metal flying in a corkscrew fashion into the wall of the base. Metal got out, angry as who-knows-what.

'_ARRRGGGHHH! HOW CAN THESE HUMANS BE THIS STRONG! No matter! This ends NOW!'_ Metal pressed a button on his arm.

"METAL TEAM! REGROUP!"

The other four robots reappeared next to him. Naruto was joined by Dylan and the others.

"We're finishing this now! OMEGA FORMATION!"

"Watch out! They're using their special attack again!" Dylan and his friends braced themselves, but then Dylan sensed a surge of energy.

Evil energy.

"What's wrong Dylan?" Mario asked.

"It's him! He's here!" Dylan said agitated.

"Who's he-WAIT! YOU MEAN…?!"

"ATTACK!!!" Metal Sonic and his robot cronies charged at the heroes, but an energy ball crashed into them with brute force, stopping their attack. The five robots crashed into the wall.

The energy ball landed a few feet away in front of the heroes and reveals itself to be-

"ECLIPSE!!!" Dylan cried.

Eclipse chuckled as he juggled four emeralds in his hands, the green one he took from Dylan, two that the Metal Team had had, and a red one. Dylan guessed that Eclipse had just gotten that one.

"We meet again, Dylan Mitchell. How nice of you to collect these emeralds for me. However, your services won't be necessary anymore as I can got the rest myself."

"Nice try, Eclipse, but we're taking them back."

"Well then, come and get them."

Metal Sonic and his team got up.

"Who are you? Identify yourself."

Eclipse chuckled. "Who's asking?"

"We are the strongest of Lord Eggman's robot legions, the Metal Team. In the name of Lord Eggman, hand over those emeralds!"

"Fool. You don't deserve it."

"Neither do you!" yelled Dylan. "That power belongs to the citizens of Mobius and we are not about to let you abuse it anymore! You'll pay for the pain and suffering you've caused. I swear it!"

"Fools! If you're all so eager to throw your lives away, THEN SO BE IT!!!" Eclipse shouted.

He absorbed the four Chaos Emeralds and he started glowing, shooting beams of light from his body, the ground shaking HARD, wind rushing everywhere and everyone shielded themselves or held on to whatever they could find. And then there's a HUGE light explosion.

When the explosion faded, they all see Eclipse in a new form. He looked less like Dylan and more like a fiend from the underworld.

"_I give you…Semi-Perfect Eclipse!!!_"The new Eclipse shouts. "Now prepare to DIE!!!"

"Metal Team, CHARGE!!!" All five robots charged at Ecilpse.

Eclipse grinned and started glowing.

"DARKNESS BLAST!"

He shot a beam of darkness from both hands. Metal Sonic dodged, but the rest were destroyed.

"YOU WILL DIE!" Metal roared as he charged at Eclipse.

Eclipse caught Metal's claw and crushed it. "Die." He fired a Dark Shot from his free hand, blowing up Metal's head. The lifeless body fell to the pavement.

Dylan was shocked. "Oh man, he took out all five easily."

Shadow hmphed. "Now we can get Eclipse."

Naruto looked at Shadow, a little annoyed. "Wow, you're certainly optimistic."

"Impressed?" Eclipse chuckled. "And I did all of that only four of the Chaos Emeralds! Just imagine how powerful I will be when I have all of them in my possession! But I doubt you will live long enough to witness that!"

"Not gonna happen! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" Dylan said.

Dylan charged at Eclipse, with his friends close behind.


	24. Good vs Evil: The Island Battles Part 2

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 23: Good vs. Evil: The Island Battles Part 2

The heroes charged at Eclipse, who flew away backwards, waiting for their attack. Naruto tried to attack him, but Eclipse warped out of his reach. Naruto tried again several times, but Eclipse just kept warping until he warped behind Naruto, giving him a fist to the face that sent him flying.

Dylan charged at Eclipse, who charged back at him. The collision made a small explosion, the two clashing furiously, moving so fast you can even see them. You just see white waves appearing everywhere and fighting sounds from those same waves (Think Dragonball Z).

When they were visible again, Dylan and Eclipse had collided their fists into each other, creating another huge wave that crumbled some rocks close by. Dylan swung his sword, but Eclipse warped behind Dylan and hammer punched him down to the ground, creating a huge fog of dust.

Mario and Luigi attempted use a tag-team attack, but Eclipse simply caught them both and threw them into the side of the base. Eclipse then turned to Dylan and charged another Darkness Blast to finish. Then…

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

A storm of yellow spears hit Eclipse in the back, forcing him to cancel his attack. Eclipse turned to see Shadow standing near him, with Naruto beside him, who was making another Rasengan.

Shadow and Eclipse engaged each other in battle, fists flying as they fought. Dylan got up, charging another attack.

Eclipse broke away from the fight to see Dylan on his feet, his hand glowing. Eclipse quickly countered.

"VOLT BLAST!"

"DARK TORRENT!"

A wave of Dark energy erupted from Eclipse's hands to connect with Dylan electrified blast. The explosion forced them both back. Eclipse quickly jumped to dodge Naruto's charge.

"RASENGAN!"

Eclipse darted behind Naruto.

"DARK SHOT!"

The shot sent Naruto flying to land in a heap. Mario and Luigi hurried over to help him up.

Dylan and Eclipse were staring each other down. Dylan was panting a little from the fight. Eclipse calmly looked at Dylan for a moment, then laughed.

"What's so funny!?" demanded Dylan.

"Oh, nothing." said Eclipse. "I'm just surprised at how easy this fight is. I'm only using a mere fraction of my current strength and I already taking you and your little friends apart like yesterday's trash."

"Don't flatter yourself. This isn't over yet."

Eclipse shook his head. "Wrong. This fight was over a long time ago. The only reason that you're still alive is that you had a strong friend to save you. However, the outcome is inevitable."

Eclipse snapped his hand up, pointed his finger at Dylan.

"This is our last meeting, Dylan Mitchell, for I am going to send you and this island to the bottom of the sea!"

Dylan was shocked. "WHAT!? NO!"

Eclipse laughed. "FAREWELL!"

Eclipse flies up into the air so fast, he looked like he had teleported. Then he reappears between the clouds.

"DARKNESS COMET!"

Eclipse raised his arm and electricity comes out of the palm of his hand. Next, the sky turns dark and a black ball of energy appears on Eclipse's hand, it starts growing, slowly.

Back at the island, Dylan and the others could see the black ball getting bigger in the darkening sky.

"This is bad." Dylan said.

"We have no choice; we gotta evacuate everybody, NOW!" Naruto said.

"Come on!" Dylan raced back to the hideout, followed by Shadow and the Mario brothers, who was supporting Naruto.

Tails and Miller ran into them, Tails in his Cyclone.

"Captain! We have to get of this island on the double!" Shadow said. "What's your status?"

"Not good. We only were able to defeat the robots and round up the whole army assigned here, but I doubt we will be have enough time to leave this island, before that things destroys us!"

Dylan looked at Shadow. "Shadow, I know you can use Chaos Control with out an Emerald. Do you think…?"

Shadow shook his head. "I'm sorry Dylan. My power is only limited for short distances without an Emerald. Even if I could, I wouldn't have enough energy to take us and everyone else to safety. If only I had got my hands on one of the Chaos Emeralds during the battle I could do something."

Naruto was angry. "JUST GREAT! NOW WHAT!?"

Mario and Luigi looked at Tails. "Do you a think you can use your plane to fly us off the island?"

"Maybe, Luigi, but I doubt that everyone can fit on it."

Dylan was still, looking down at the ground.

'_Is…Is this how it ends? I…It can't be.'_

Dylan dropped to his knees.

'_No, it can't end like this. It just can't.'_

Dylan was saddened, and then…

'_**The power…'**_

"_Huh?! Who is that!?'_

'_**The power…Use it. Protect those who are in danger. They need you now. Help them.'**_

'_Wha…!?'_

'_**Help…them…'**_

Dylan was still. Then, he slowly stood up.

'_No…it can't end like this. IT WON'T END LIKE THIS!'_

Dylan tensed, feeling unnatural power coursing through him.

'_I WILL NOT LET IT END THIS WAY!'_

Dylan started glowing, a purple aura surrounding him. He felt the power mass to its peak, and then he let it out.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

With a explosion of light that blinded everyone, Dylan became another ball of light, When the light faded, Dylan didn't look changed, but if you looked closely, his normal peaceful blue eyes had become purple.

In a surprising burst of speed, Dylan bolted up the side of the base and leaped upwards. His shout could be heard by everyone.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

He disappeared with a flash of light.

Eclipse's energy ball was now REALLY big. The dark fiend had an exited look on his face.

"HAHAHA!!! Yes! Just a little more and this puny island is HISTORY!" Eclipse laughed maniacally. His laughter stopped abruptly when Dylan appeared in front of him.

"WHAT?!?!?!" He roared.

Dylan pulled back his fist and punched.

BAM

The sheer force of the punch knocked the emeralds forcefully out of Eclipse, returning him to his original form.

Dylan snatched the Emeralds out of the air. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"

Then he looked down.

'Uh…whoops. Forgot I can't fly.'

Dylan fell towards the ground.

"RAAAARRRGG! Curse you Dylan! You will not leave here alive!!!" Eclipse roared at him. He warped over the energy ball and kicked it down.

Dylan zoomed downwards, the ball behind him.

Shadow tensed. "This is gonna be close…"

Dylan grabbed the yellow emerald. "SHADOW! HEADS UP!"

He threw it down hard.

It landed in Shadow's outstretched hand. "Finally. It is good to be back."

Dylan landed in Mario's arms as Shadow used his signature move.

"CHAOS…**CONTROL**!"

All the heroes and the soldiers were warped to safety, just before the black ball hit.

---------

They reappeared on the shore, Prison Island in sight blowing up in the background.

"Whew! That was too close for comfort!" said Tails.

"Indeed. We got out by the skin of our teeth." said Miller.

Miller turned to Shadow. "Thank you for saving us."

Shadow smirked. "Sure, but I can't take all the credit. Somehow Dylan was able to activate Chaos Control on his own." He turned to Dylan, who was back on his feet. "How did it happen?"

Dylan shrugged. "I guess I awakened more of my strength are something."

Miller shrugged. "Doesn't matter now."

"So, what will you do now, Captain?"

"My men and I will head back to the H.Q. and give a report. We'll do what we can to keep Eclipse's army off your backs."

"Alright then. I hope you get back safe."

Miller nodded. "Look after yourselves."

With that Miller signaled to his men, and they started marching away.

Dylan pulled out the Emeralds. "Well, at least one good thing came out of this. We now have four Emeralds while Eclipse has zero!"

"Don't be careless Dylan, this will only make us a bigger target." said Naruto. Shadow nodded in agreement.

Tails turned the others. "Well, everything's under control here. I'm heading back to the lab.

"You're not staying, Tails?"

"Afraid not. I'll only get in the way. However, I'll still be in contact. The radar E Gadd and I made has a built in transceiver that will allow me to contact you."

Dylan nodded. "Okay. See you later."

Tails nodded and went back and jumped in the Cyclone. It returned back to its plane form and Tails flew away.

Dylan turned to the others. "Alright. Let's go guys."

The groups nodded, and they walked off, Prison Island fading into the distance.


	25. The Fifth Emerald

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 25: The Fifth Emerald

Dylan brushed the brown hair on his head. He, Shadow, Naruto, and the Mario brothers had been on the move for some time now. It was high noon, and they had finally reached a city. His blue eyes reflected his relief. _'Finally!'_

He looked at his friend. They looked happy too, Naruto more than the others. Dylan looked around.

"Okay, I see lot of buildings, but no Emeralds. Where could the rest be?" said Naruto.

Dylan was about to answer when he heard a catchy tune coming from his pocket. The others turned as he pulled out the radar and pushed a button.

Tails's face appeared on the screen. **"Hi guys. I just returned to the lab. How goes the search?"**

"Uneventful." replied Dylan. "Good news though. We've reached a city." He held the radar so Tails could see.

"**Hey, it looks like you're back in Station Square. It'll be a challenge to find Emeralds here, especially if one is in the sewers."**

"How's that?" asked Luigi.

"**While it sounds easy, the sewers are a complicated maze. Almost every passage is interconnected with each other. Both Sonic and Knuckles have a hard time finding their way.** **If you're not careful, you might get lost."**

Dylan nodded. "But the radar should find the Emerald, right?"

"**It should, but it not perfect. Gadd and I don't know everything. Anyway, I gotta get back. I'll contact you if something comes up."** Tails closed the connection.

Dylan nodded. "Alright, let's get cracking." He pushed a button to activate the radar.

"Okay, it is definitely in the sewers."

"So we a pick a manhole and start looking?" asked Mario.

"Hang on, let me try and get a closer route."

Dylan punched a few buttons, looked at it, and nodded, satisfied.

"According to the radar…"

Dylan went down the street, the group following.

Dylan stopped by a manhole in the center square.

"Here. This should be the closest entrance."

Shadow nodded and picked the manhole. Everyone jumped in and Shadow went in last, replacing the cover.

------

Everyone looked around. The sewers were dark, but no sludge around thankfully.

"Alright, time to search. Dylan?" said Shadow. Dylan nodded and pulled out the radar. He looked at it, then, rather surprised, hit it several times.

"What is it?"

Dylan showed to Luigi, who jumped a little.

"Mamma mia! The radar is picking up 15… no 30 emeralds at the same time!"

"WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!" roared Shadow. "There are only seven!"

"Hmmm…" said Naruto. "Maybe light is reflecting off of it?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Maybe the light filtering in the sewer is reflecting off the Emerald. As a result, the radar is seeing more of them."

Dylan was surprised. "WHOA! Seriously?!"

Shadow nodded. "Well, that leaves only one choice. We do this the old-fashioned way." He turned to walk off, but in a flash Dylan was in front of him.

"Whoaaah there, cowboy. Where are you going?"

"Looking for the emerald. What else?"

"At least take someone with you. You can't always fly solo."

Shadow looked at Dylan for a moment, and then relented. "I guess not." He turned to Mario and Luigi. "Mario, Luigi, let's go."

The two plumbers nodded and followed him.

Dylan turned to Naruto. "I guess that leaves us to go the other way."

Naruto nodded. "Don't worry, Dylan. We'll find it!"

Dylan smiled, chuckling. "Alright, let's go."

The two started walking in the other direction.

--Some time later—

Dylan and Naruto had come across their 32nd dead end.

"ANOTHER ONE!?!" yelled Naruto. "THIS IS STARTING TO TICK ME OFF!"

"I'm with you there." Dylan agreed. "The radar is showing that the Emerald the closest here. I'd say it's on the other side of the wall."

Naruto started to make another Rasengan, but Dylan stopped him.

"Hold up. I think this could be solved without busting the wall down."

"What do we do then?"

"We head back and see if we can go around. There might be a passage that leads there."

Naruto was silent, then he nodded. "Fine, but we can't waste time. Not with that Eclipse guy on the loose."

Dylan nodded and they started to head back.

THUD

Both spun around. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. What was it?"

THUD

Dylan spun back around. "There it is again. Earthquake?"

Naruto's eyebrow furrowed. "I don't think so."

"Well, I don't want to find out. Let's go before something else happens."

Dylan started walking back down the passage. Naruto stayed put, looking upwards, glaring at the ceiling.

Everything was quiet, then…

SMASH

Part of ceiling was blasted open, revealing a hole just above Dylan.

Naruto jumped, then bolted towards Dylan, knocking him out of the way, just as a huge falling thing hit the floor.

Both Dylan and Naruto landed on their feet.

Through the smoke, they saw a silhouette get through feet, look at them, and Eclipse charged out of the smoke.

Eclipse socked Naruto with a hard right, sending Naruto flying. Eclipse then turned and aimed his palm at Dylan and started firing dark blasts of energy.

Dylan bolted down the corridor, running along the wall, jumping several times to dodge the blasts, and accelerated.

Eclipse charged an attack. "DARK BOMB!"

A huge ball of darkness shot from Eclipse's hands.

Dylan hit the wall and jumped off of it, flipping over the Dark Bomb, but the explosion still sent him flying. Righting himself in midair, he hit Eclipse with a fierce Axe Kick, which Eclipse blocked. Dylan followed the kick with a barrage of punches. The two traded fists until Eclipse caught one of Dylan's hands and elbowed him into the dead end wall. Dylan hit the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

Eclipse looked at Dylan, then warped out of the way as Naruto tried to attack from behind. Naruto threw several punches, but Eclipse dodged them all.

Dylan leaped back up. _'Time for THAT move.'_ He tensed, starting to glow from the focusing energy.

Eclipse caught Naruto's fist and socked him again. Eclipse zoomed after Naruto's free-falling form.

Dylan's focused reached the max. Time seemed to slow down as Eclipse got closer. Dylan snapped into position.

"CHAOS…"

An aura surrounded him as he locked on Eclipse's approaching form.

"**RUSH!"**

Dylan shot forward like he was launched from a cannon. He slammed into Eclipse head on, slamming him into the opposite wall.

Dylan landed on his feet and pulled out the red Chaos Emerald.

Eclipse got up. Both said the same thing.

"CHAOS…CONTROL!"

Both slammed into each other, fighting too fast for the normal eye to see. Naruto was hard-pressed to dodge their clashes.

Finally Dylan charged, but Eclipse caught him and threw him into the wall again. Eclipse then lashed out a kick that sent Dylan through the wall. Dylan hit the ground, then got up, hurt from the attack. Eclipse caught him by the neck and slammed him into a wall.

"You will pay for humiliating me on that island!" growled Eclipse. "Now I'm only asking once: Where. Are. My. CHAOS EMERALDS!"

Dylan lifted his head and glared at Eclipse. "Ugh…I'm not telling you diddly!"

Eclipse scoffed. "ARRRG! Why I bother wasting my time with you! These sewers will be your grave!" He charged a Dark Shot in his free hand. Dylan's eyes widened.

THUNK

A shuriken hit Eclipse's hand, forcing him to drop Dylan. Eclipse spun around to see two Narutos running towards him, both holding the same Rasengan.

However, it was bigger than usual. Much bigger.

Eclipse's eyes widened.

"ODAMA RASENGAN!"

The attack sent Eclipse sailing into another wall, which proceeded to fall on him.

Naruto picked up Dylan and climbed out through the manhole above them.

------

Dylan woke up a little dazed. He looked around. He and Naruto were at street level again, far away from where they had entered.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. Oh man, I thought I was done for. Thanks for the save."

"No problem! That's what friends do, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Dylan and Naruto got up and were about to move, when…

"Dylan! DYLAN!"

Dylan and Naruto turned to see two figures runnings towards them. Dylan smiled.

"MOM! ROUGE!"

Melissa and Rouge waved. Melissa was a full combat uniform while Rouge was wearing her normal entourage.

"Hey there, kiddo! How have you been?" asked Rouge.

Melissa simply ran up to Dylan and hugged him. Dylan returned it.

Mellissa let go and turned serious. "DO KNOW HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN?!"

"Mom, calm down. I'm fine!"

Melissa calmed down. "Sorry. Tsunade told me what happened and I was worried sick."

Dylan hugged his mom. "Don't worry. I'm okay."

"So anyway, what's going on?"

Dylan with Naruto's help explained everything that happened since they got separated.

Melissa thought for a moment. "Hmm. I see. I thought that that Eclipse person was a trick but from what you say, he is real."

Dylan nodded. "Somehow. Anyway, we're looking for the Emerald. Shadow, Mario and Luigi are still in the sewers."

Melissa smiled. "Well then, look no further."

Rouge pulled out the Emerald. "I just found this a kilometer back. It was a little grimy but the stuff on it came off."

Dylan smiled. "Okay! That's number 5!"

"The sixth is at the base. We'll find the rest of your group and take you there."

"Right."

The four turned to leave when…

"THERE YOU ARE!"

The four spun around to see Eclipse standing before them, looking a little ticked.

"I knew you return to the surface. It would be a waste of time to search through the whole sewers for two rats."

Rouge was indignant. "Hey, what your problem, pal? What are you, a stalker?"

Dylan tensed. "Watch out, Rouge! That's Eclipse!"

"How quaint. Another animal who doesn't know her place."

"HUH?! HOW DID HE SURVIVE THE ODAMA RASENGAN?!" yelled Naruto.

"Fool. That attack is useless against me, though I did underestimate its power. But no more. I will gladly shut that big mouth of yours once I reclaim my Chaos Emeralds from your dead bodies! I suggest you hand it over and save me the trouble of removing it from you."

Dylan entered a fighting stance. "If you want it, then try and take it!" Naruto got ready to fight too.

Eclipse smirked. "I'll be sure to carve it on your headstone, Dylan Mitchell!"

With that, Eclipse charged.

Dylan and Naruto grabbed Melissa and Rouge and leaped out of the way.

"Mom, you and Rouge hide. We'll handle him!"

"No way, sugar! I'm fighting too!" said Rouge.

"Rouge, let's listen. We may be in over our heads."

"Well, alright, but kick his can for me!"

Mellisa and Rouge hid while Eclipse came back again. Dylan and Naruto took off running with Eclipse behind them.

Eclipse fired Dark Shots rapid fire. When they saw an opening, Dylan threw some lightning bolts while Naruto threw a handful of shuriken. Eclipse blocked the shuriken but the lightning bolts hit him head on. Eclipse hit the ground. Naruto attempted to finish him, but Eclipse blocked the strike and blasted both heroes off of him. He and Dylan clashed several times before Dylan managed to get in a haymaker that sent him upwards where Naruto delivered a powerful Axe Kick. Eclipse caught himself before he hit the ground and shot at the heroes, sending both flying into a building.

Naruto picked himself up wearily. His stamina was running out. Naruto looked over at Dylan, who was getting up slower than Naruto. Naruto faced off against Eclipse, serious.

'_I didn't think I'd have to use my other chakra, but I don't think I have much of a choice.'_

Naruto put his hands together and focused.

Eclipse stared at Naruto, amused. His amusement soon turned to shock.

A red chakra started to surround Naruto. All of Naruto's wounds started healing at a faster rate. His eyes changed from blue to red, the pupils becoming slits. The whisker marks on his face became more pronounced. His teeth grew into fangs.

Dylan got to his feet, feeling the growing energy.

'_What is this pressure?'_

Dylan turned to see Naruto and jumped.

"Naruto?"

Naruto turned to see Dylan gaping. "**You're not seeing things Dylan."** Naruto's voice was more feral than before.

Naruto got down to all fours as the chakra around him took the form of a fox. It looked like Naruto had gained a tail.

Naruto charged. Eclipse charged back. The two collided and the fight became a melee as Naruto slashed at Eclipse with claw like hands.

Eclipse was slashed several times before he managed to counter. He took to the air and fired dark blasts rapid fire.

Naruto dodged all of them as he ran at Eclipse on all fours.

Dylan ran after them to back up Naruto.

Naruto finally lashed out his hand and the red chakra around him reached out, forming a hand and grabbed Eclipse. In his other hand, Naruto formed a red Rasengan. He pulled Eclipse towards him and shoved the Rasengan into his chest.

"**RASENGAN!**"

Eclipse was sent into a dumpster. He got back up, fuming. He shot forward and shot upwards just as Dylan caught up to Naruto. Eclipse raised a hand.

"DARK STORM!"

A storm cloud appeared and sent several bolts of darkness down on the two heroes. Both went down after the barrage, Naruto losing his feral appearance as the red chakra disappeared.

"You are both strong, I'll give you that. However I am stronger."

Eclipse raised a hand.

"FAREWELL!"

Just then…

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

Shadow hit Eclipse from behind as Mario and Luigi leaped above them and slammed him into the ground.

Shadow landed and looked at Dylan and Naruto. "You two alright?"

"Yeah. Let's go. Mom and Rouge got the Emerald."

Shadow nodded and waved at the plumbers. The two ran over as Dylan handed Shadow the Chaos Emerald.

"CHAOS…CONTROL!"

The group warped away as Eclipse lay there, knocked senseless.


	26. Battle Plans

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 26: Battle Plans

The main headquarters of G.U.N. was currently in a high state of anxiety. People in uniform were scrambling around, gathering paperwork, answering phones and taking notes. When the group passed through, most of the people stopped and stared. A few of them whispered to their co-workers. Dylan felt very uncomfortable with all this attention, but Shadow put a hand on his shoulder, or his wrist, since Shadow was shorter, but Dylan was reassured. He smiled at Shadow as if to say 'thanks'. Shadow smirked, nodding. They reached a large door with tinted glass. Melissa knocked on the door.

"Melissa Mitchell reporting. Permission to enter, Commander?" Melissa said in a military tone.

"Granted." the voice of the Commander in the other room responded. Melissa opened the door and let her companions in first. The Commander was in apparent converse with Tsunade and another older officer before he looked up. Mellissa stood there in a stance of attention, as was required of subordinate officers.

"At ease, Melissa. You can sit." he said. Mellissa nodded as she relaxed and took a seat. "You may sit down…all of you." Everyone pulled up chairs and sat down, but Shadow opted to remaining standing next to Dylan.

The older officer stood up and looked intensely at Dylan with his eyes…the startling color difference made him uncomfortable, and he avoided direct eye contact.

"So…you're the Destined, eh? Well, this is a surprise." he began. His tone wasn't of respect, more like ridicule.

Melissa spoke up to defend her son. "My son has a name, Grant. His name is Dylan." Shadow nodded in agreement. In a way he made it seem stronger than Melissa's statement.

Grant looked at Melissa. "Doesn't matter. We have a crisis on our hands, and the Destined is needed. However, from the look of him, he's only a little kid."

Shadow spoke up. "This _kid _is the one who stands the most chance against the current threat. Don't underestimate him."

Commander spoke up. "Enough. Grant, proceed with the battle preparations. I wish to speak with Shadow on the progress of their mission."

Grant nodded and left. Commander turned to Shadow.

"What's your progress?"

Shadow explained what happened. He started with the start of the invasion, included his and Dylan's chat with Eggman, and finished with the Prison Island incident. He pulled the five emeralds as he explained.

"Hmm, I see. This confirms Captain Miller's report. He arrived a few hours before you did and informed me about Prison Island. This Eclipse character is the apparent guilty party. What is his goal?"

"He wants, to put it simply, collect the emeralds and using them rule everything. He's willing to follow through on that too. He leveled Central City in his search.'

Commander looked at the Emeralds.

"Well, with these Emeralds, we have six. Hopefully we can use the Emeralds to defeat whatever he has planned. What is he capable of?"

"His attacks are dark energy blasts, but he's also capable of using the Chaos Emeralds to transform. Also, from what Dylan and Naruto told me, he is capable of Chaos Control."

"I see. Do you have a plan of action?"

"At the moment, no. His body is incredibly resilient. He took several Chaos Spears to the back and only stumbled. My allies' abilities also have little effect."

"Yeah." said Naruto. "He took a direct hit from the Odama Rasengan and was hardly fazed."

Tsunade was a little shocked at this. "Really? That's one of your stronger attacks, isn't it?"

"Yes. I'd try to hit with the completed version, but I don't want to run the risk if it won't do any damage."

Tsunade nodded. "Well, this is not the best news, but these emeralds should provide the advantage."

Commander nodded. "Once we get the last one, the advantage should be ours."

Shadow spoke up. "With all seven, Sonic and myself can no doubt bring him down. He has power but it's not unlimited."

"All right then, let's get the final plans under way. We've managed to locate the final emerald, but the soldiers have reported that Eclipse is on his way there with an army. His minions have only done spontaneous strikes, but this time they may very well go all out."

Tsunade spoke up. "I have several platoons of ninja I can provide to help out. Our allies in the Sand Village have promised to help as well."

Dylan spoke up. "What will we do?"

"We'll be attempting to keep Eclipse's forces back while locating the Emerald. When we do, it will be sent to Shadow or Sonic, will use them to defeat Eclipse."

Shadow nodded. "Alright, I'm in."

Naruto spoke up. "And me."

"We're in too!" chorused the Mario brothers.

Dylan started to speak up. "I…"

Commander turned to Dylan. "Dylan, you'll need to stay out the fighting."

"Huh?!"

"Should the initial plan fail, you may be needed."

Shadow looked at the Commander. "With all due respect sir, Dylan is no lightweight. He can easily hold his own against almost any enemy.

"I know. This is why he is staying back. If Eclipse makes an appearance, Dylan will need to be at full strength. It is likely that of our forces, he is of the few who will be able to destroy Eclipse."

Dylan subsided.

"All right. All of you prepare yourselves. In a few hours, we will most likely lock horns with the enemy. Dismissed."

-----

Dylan looked at the sky, deep in thought. He was thinking about that upcoming battle.

"You look troubled."

Dylan turned to see Shadow walk up.

"Yeah well, I'm having a moment."

"Care to share?"

"Well…"

Shadow sat down next to Dylan.

"Come on."

"Well, how do I put it? I'm conflicted."

"Conflicted?"

"I want to get out there and fight, but at the same time, I'm a little scared. It's not like a game where I'm not actually in danger. This is real. There is no Reset button if things go wrong. I'm worried that I might, well…"

"Die?"

Dylan nodded. "Sorry."

"Hey, it's alright. You're not weak to think like that. But let me tell you something."

Shadow stood up and turned to Dylan.

"I've seen a lot, but the thought of losing never truly occurred to me. Looking back, there are a number of times where I almost died. But I didn't. Know why? I had a focus. I knew what I needed to do. I wanted to protect this world. This world that Maria loved so much even though she never had been here. I remember my promise, and it gives me strength."

"Huh? I thought you put that behind you after the Black Arms invasion."

Shadow gave a small smile. Dylan saw that his eyes were a little moist. "They say that time heals all wounds. I guess I'm an exception. But I made a promise to protect this world. That's what I'm going to do."

Shadow's eyes turned serious.

"You're in this too. In the end, you're gonna play a big part in this fight. Count on it."

Shadow smirked.

"And I'll be there to support you."

Dylan smiled. "Thanks. You're a nice guy, well, not a pushover, but…"

"Thanks. Anyway, let's get ready. And don't worry, if there's a big fight for heroes, I'm taking you with me. You deserve some action for what you've put in this."

Dylan grinned and the two shared a high five. The final battle was about to begin!


	27. Eclipse Showdown: Dylan's True Power

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 27: The Showdown with Eclipse: Dylan's True Power Revealed

The G.U.N. saw the oncoming enemies as they reached the area where the emerald was located, which turned out to be Station Square and readied themselves for battle. The soldiers checked their guns and spare clips while the ninja platoons were receiving final instructions from Tsunade and a young man wearing red carrying a gourd on his back. Naruto had told Dylan that was Gaara, the fifth Kazekage of the Sand Village, and a good friend of his. Dylan and the rest of the heroes present were getting ready for battle while Commander took stock of the battlefield.

"Hmmm...seems like a lot of those monster things there, and none of those look like good news.  
This will be tricky, but manageable."

Dylan was talking to Shadow. "Okay, this is it. Eclipse goes down today."

Shadow nodded. "One way or another. Stay on the fringes until you see Eclipse. Then we'll go and take him down."

"Right."

Commander turned to Tsunade. "Eclipse been sighted yet?"

"Not yet. But most likely he's going to make an appearance soon."

A ninja, one of the ANBU Black Ops appeared with a POOF of smoke.

"Lady Hokage, Eclipse has been sighted on the middle of the city."

"Good work." Tsunade said.

The ninja nodded and poofed off.

"Dylan, change of plan. Can you distract Eclipse until we secure the Emerald?"

Dylan nodded. "You got it. Just find it quick."

Dylan pulled out the green Chaos Emerald and ran off, a dust cloud in his wake.

"Good luck, Destined!" Commander yelled, and then turned to a portable comm unit. "All troops, OPEN FIRE!"

The soldiers opened fire as Dylan shot off to find Eclipse.

'_Eclipse, you're going down. Hard.'_

-----

Dylan got to the middle of town. He could sense an energy source nearby. Then, on impulse he looked up.

There, standing on the top of a building, was Eclipse.

"Eclipse."

"Dylan."

Eclipse leaped down and landed in front of Dylan softly.

"I had thought you to be a stronger opponent, but you were actually weaker than me, not that you could have done anything about it."

"Enough with the games Eclipse. Once the Mobius army gets the last Emerald you're done."

Eclipse chuckled, and then let out uncontrolled laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHA. I'm sorry…"

He whipped of his cloak and tossed it to the wind.

…do you mean THIS emerald?!"

There, fused with his chest, was the final emerald, the sky blue emerald.

Dylan was shocked. "YOU…YOU HAD THE EMERALD ALL THIS TIME!?!?!"

Eclipse laughed. "Correct, Dylan. This is how I've been able to recover from the attacks by you and your little friends. With this fused with my body, I can take your attacks, take you out, and walk away with a smile."

Dylan glared at him. "I guess this is going to be little tougher than I thought. But still, I'm going to an end to you, Eclipse, for good!"

"HAHAHAHA! Let's see you try, Dylan Mitchell!"

The two charged at each other, convinced that this was their final battle.

------

The soldiers were concentrating their fire on the monsters. The ninja platoons had just entered the fray and was either swiftly eliminating any monster that got near them or luring them into the soldiers' line of fire.

Commander turned to Tsunade and Gaara. "We're holding them now, but intel says that there more appearing by the second. They think that Eclipse is summoning them somehow."

Tsunade nodded. "I see. I just received word that Dylan has engaged Eclipse in battle. However, Dylan is hard-pressed to get the upper hand."

"The Destined is faltering, I could sense it." spoke up Gaara, getting their attention. "He is not as recovered as believed. He will need assistance soon or he will be in danger."

Commander was frowning. "This is not good."

"COMMANDER!"

Rouge ran up.

"Commander, Sonic is here. He is on his way to back up Dylan."

"That's good news. Hopefully the two can keep back Eclipse."

-------

Dylan staggered from Eclipse's gut punch, but managed to avoid his follow-up attack, then countered with a knee strike to Eclipse's back, knocking him down. Eclipse flipped up and grabbed Dylan's leg as Dylan did a roundhouse kick and tossed him several yards away in a manner like an Olympic hammer-throw. Dylan righted himself in midair and landed on his feet to see Eclipse charge. The two clashed, their hands locked as they fought for the advantage.

"You are just like the other humans. You have no power at all. You don't deserve it."

"My strength is my strength, and it's stronger than yours!"

"You are a fool and you will DIE!"

Eclipse broke off and proceeded to charge an energy attack.

"THIS WILL FINISH YOU!"

Dylan at first prepared a Volt Blast, but soon found that another attack charging up within him. IT came naturally to him.

"Chaos…SPEAR!" A large purple spear roughly seven feet long made of pure energy suddenly formed in his hands, and he threw it to counter Eclipse's strike just in time. The two leapt apart and readied a guard stance. Eclipse seemed frustrated with this attack. His one advantage of having pure energy attacks had somehow been taken away. But he wasn't about to lose because of a disadvantage. Dylan and Eclipse leapt at each other, warping and clashing, warping and clashing.

Finally they broke apart and landed across from each other.

"Just you and me, Eclipse. You and me."

"No, it's just me, Dylan."

Dylan ignored the barb. "This is the end of our battles, all of them, and only one is going to walk away."

"Hmph. Throwing your life away won't stop me."

"I never said it would come to that, Eclipse. Today is the last you are finally gone for good."

"I think not. You see, unlike you I have a greater power source. You, on the other hand, are running out."

Dylan realized that he was right. His power was weakening.

"All of those previous fights have reduced your stamina to where it is now. You cannot stand against me anymore."

Dylan suddenly felt a pulse of energy. He spun around to see a monster burst out the ground at Dylan.

"Farewell, Dylan Mitchell!"

Dylan's eyes widened as he realized that he wouldn't counter the attack in time. The monster raised its claw…

…and got hit by a blue blur.

"Not today, freak show!"

Dylan smiled at who it was. "SONIC!"

Sonic smiled. "Hey hey, Dylan. What's up? Long time no see!"

Eclipse growled. "Another hindrance!?! DIE!"

Eclipse fired blast after blast at Sonic who dodged them with ease.

"HOLD STILL BLAST YOU!" Eclipse yelled in anger. Sonic jumped and landed on his head. "Catch me if you can!" Eclipse was clearly annoyed. "...Chaos Control!" Eclipse yelled out as he warped.

"What?! He can also use Chaos Control?!" Sonic couldn't believe it. He was taken by surprise as Eclipse appeared above him and knocked him into the ground.

"Sonic!"

"WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF!"

Dylan was sent flying in a heap. Eclipse appeared above him, charging a beam attack.

"You have annoyed me for too long, Dylan Mitchell!"

He formed a ball of dark energy.

"**DIE**!"

He fired it.

"NO!" yelled Sonic.

The blast exploded.

When the blast cleared, Eclipse grinned evilly thinking he got him, but gasped in shock as the smoke cleared, revealing Shadow holding Dylan, the blast having missed.

Dylan looked at Shadow. "How did you…"

"I tracked your energy signature. Get your strength back. Leave this to me."

"Watch out. He…he fused himself with the last emerald. He's had it this whole time."

"So THAT'S how he was so hard to beat. Don't worry I got this."

"You again! Who are you?!!" Eclipse demanded.

Shadow smirked as he pulled out the red Chaos Emerald. "You have no idea who you're dealing with. I am Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog. I AM THE ULTIMATE LIFE FORM!"

With that last yell, he charged at Eclipse.

Eclipse was caught off guard by the barrage of punches, but he managed to block the last one and jumped back.

"DARK SHOT!"

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

The two attacks met with an explosion. Both leapt through the smoke and clashed, making white shockwaves appear as they fought.

Dylan watched as they clashed, then he heard a shout.

"DYLAN!"

He turned to see Rouge running up with Knuckles in tow.

"There you are! Found you!"

"Guys? What are you doing here?"

"Helping you." said Knuckles. "I had guessed that this would happen."

"Huh?"

"Rouge filled me in. All those times you fought before taxed you more than you thought. Maybe it is because your body is still adapting, but no matter."

He pulled out a bright green emerald.

"I brought the Master Emerald so you could recharge yourself. Hurry so you can help Shadow!"

Dylan took the emerald. "You're sure?"

"The Master Emerald is raw, unlimited energy. It should work."

Dylan nodded and looked at the emerald. Almost immediately he felt power surging through him. When he was filled to the max, Dylan let out a yell as he let off a flash of light.

When the light subsided, Dylan was on feet, his wounds and fatigue gone. He literally was almost glowing.

Dylan handed the emerald to Knuckles. "It's good to powerful again."

Knuckles grinned. "Give him what for."

Dylan nodded and was off like a shot, blocking the Dark Shot sent at Shadow.

"What!?!" yelled Eclipse.

Shadow stared. He could feel the power surging from Dylan's body.

Eclipse threw a Dark Bomb, but Dylan easily deflected it.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Eclipse roared as he charged at Dylan.

Dylan caught Eclipse's fist. With his free hand, he gestured. The emerald in Eclipse's body disappeared to reappear in Shadow's hands. Dylan than made a fist and slammed Eclipse with a solid punch, sending him into a boulder.

Dylan helped Shadow up. "We even now?"

"I'll call it even."

"All righty then. Ready to take this guy down?"

Shadow smirked. "Let's do it."


	28. Dylan and Shadow: The Ultimate Tag Team!

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 28: Dylan and Shadow: The Ultimate Tag-Team!

"Grr!" Eclipse growled as he recovered quickly from the punch Dylan gave him. "Hmm?" Eclipse raised an eyebrow.

Dylan was staring at Eclipse, surging with energy.

"Ah I see, you somehow recharged?" Eclipse smiled evilly. "It doesn't matter. If you actually believe you can stop me when at your full power, then you're more of a fool than I thought."

Dylan smirked as he disappeared with a flash of light.

"WHAT!?!"

POW

Dylan gave Eclipse a punch to the gut. Dylan then punched him multiple times then delivered a powerful kick.

Eclipse was sent flying. In a flash Dylan reappeared and unleashed another punch barrage.

Eclipse landed on his feet, but unlike before, Eclipse was actually in pain. "AGH! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

Eclipse punched rapidly attempting to hit Dylan but Dylan dodged for over a minute before connecting with another gut punch. Eclipse groaned in agony as he hit the ground.

Dylan and Eclipse both fired an attack.

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

"DARK TORRENT!"

The two attacks met and canceled each other out. Dylan charged and the two fighter clashed several times. Finally Eclipse got in a hit, sending Dylan into another rock.

"NOW YOU DIE!"

Dylan got up, smirking. "You forgot I'm not alone."

"What?" said Eclipse.

WHAM

Eclipse got hit Shadow's metal boot.

Eclipse looked at Dylan and Shadow, both ready to fight.

'_BLAST IT! THEY'RE TOO STRONG! I NEED ANOTHER EMERALD!'_

Eclipse shot off in the direction of the city.

"AFTER HIM!" yelled Dylan. He and Shadow were off like a shot. Sonic, Knuckles and Rouge followed behind.

-------

The battle at Station Square was winding down a little. The monsters, once coming in waves, were dwindling in number. Commander, Tsunade, and Melissa were all confused.

"What's going on? There are not so many anymore." said Melissa.

Tsunade nodded. "You're right."

"I have a theory."

Everyone turned to Gaara, whose face was the same neutral state.

"Eclipse is most likely feeling the pressure. Either that or his power source was cut off. Either way, he is losing his strength. The Destined must be involved."

"If that is true, then what will Eclipse do?"

No sooner then Commander finished that question, Eclipse landed in the middle of the street. He took one look at the emeralds that were on the Commander's transport and lunged for them.

Dylan came out of nowhere and caught Eclipse's outstretched hand.

"Oh no you don't!"

With his free hand, Dylan punched Eclipse. Eclipse hit several streetlights and hit the same dumpster that Naruto sent him into before.

Dylan spun to the leaders and said, "We're good here!" and charged at Eclipse. A few seconds later Shadow appeared and said, "Keep your men back!" before rushing to help Dylan.

A few seconds passed.

"Whoa." said the Commander.

Dylan lashed another punch, sending Eclipse flying into Shadow's Chaos Spear.

Eclipse got up, beside himself with anger.

Shadow ran up the Dylan. "We getting serious yet?"

"Come on, Shadow! This is nothing now!"

"Maybe, but it is time to stop playing around. Let's finish it."

"Okay!"

Dylan was about to attack when an idea flashed through his head.

"HEY! What about a Light Speed Attack?"

Shadow chuckled. "You're just like Sonic. You never cease to surprise me."

"So that's a yes?"

Shadow nodded. "LET'S DO IT!"

Dylan focused his energy while Shadow leapt up and started spinning in mid air.

Eclipse was confused. _'What now?'_

Dylan and Shadow were covered in balls of light.

"Shall we be going?"

"BLAST AWAY!"

The two heroes shot at Eclipse like rockets. They shot around him warp-speed.

'_What's going on!? I can't track them!'_

Dylan and Shadow both were grinning.

"We're at light-speed now!"

"Just watch this!"

Dylan shot forward hitting Eclipse with a smashing right. Shadow followed with a fierce roundhouse kick. Dylan followed that with a powerful uppercut.

It was like a hyper round of tennis for 10 straight minutes till Dylan finished it by punching Eclipse into the ground.

Shadow turned to Dylan. "DYLAN!"

"GOT IT!"

Dylan focused his energy. He put both his hand behind him (Think the Kamehameha Wave from DBZ). A ball of energy appeared and got bigger.

Eclipse got up and prepared another Dark Storm, but Shadow calmly gestured towards Dylan. Eclipse looked and paled.

Dylan fired.

"CHAOS…BEAM!"

The beam of energy hit Eclipse point blank. Eclipse screamed as he was sent into a building, causing it to collapse around him.

Dylan and Shadow looked at the wreckage, then each other, then slapped a high five.

"YEAH! We rock!"

"Perfect as always!"

The two grinned and warped back to the others.

Melissa spoke up. "You did it!"

Commander nodded. "And so have we. The last monster was just taken out. What confuses me, though, is why they stopped appearing."

Shadow answered. "Eclipse had the seventh emerald the whole time. That's why he was so strong. Once Dylan removed it, his power was reduced."

"And the monsters stopped appearing." Commander nodded. "Well then, I for one am glad this is over."

"Uh-huh." said Dylan.

"Dylan!"

Dylan turned to Sarah running up with Sonic, Knuckles and Rouge. Sarah went up and hugged him. Dylan smiled and returned it, though he turned a little red, which didn't go unnoticed. Shadow smirked while Melissa smiled at the scene.

Suddenly there was huge flash of light. Shadow, Dylan, and Knuckles were knocked down. When the light faded, the emeralds were gone!

"The emeralds!" yelled Dylan.

Eclipse laughed as he took off with the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald.

Dylan turned to Shadow. "Let's go!"

Shadow nodded and the two took off after Eclipse.

"Go get him, Dylan! Take him out!" yelled Sarah.


	29. Darkness Unleashed

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 29: Darkness Unleashed

Dylan and Shadow tailed Eclipse to an island not far from Emerald Beach. Thanks to his awakened abilities, Dylan was fast enough to run across water, which shocked him a little. the island looked evil, and Dylan could sense the darkness circling it.

"Well, Eclipse certainly has been busy."

Shadow was serious. "No time for messing around."

"Right."

The two walked forwards, looking for Eclipse. Dylan had his sword drawn.

It didn't take too long. They found Eclipse, who was on top of the Master Emerald, with was on an altar with all 7 Chaos Emeralds on each of the altar's pillars.

"Eclipse!" Dylan pointed his finger at him while he and Shadow got into battle stances.

"You're too late Dylan! All the Emeralds are in place on the altar which I have created! With these elements I will conquer the Earth and the universe! I am in reality Darkness in a physical form!" Eclipse grinned evilly as lightning strikes dotted the sky.

"Every time the fools of this world used the Chaos Emeralds for selfish ends, the negative energy that was created is left in them! With the negative energy in the seven Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald, I will surpass all beings!" Eclipse stated evilly.

"We won't let you do that!" Dylan yelled at him.

Eclipse grinned evilly. "Watch me... Dylan... Shadow... All you know and love are about to be destroyed! Now witness the power of PURE DARKNESS!!" The Chaos Emeralds begin to glow as they connect; Eclipse let out a demonic laugh as dark energy hits him blinding everyone.

After several minutes, both Dylan and Shadow opened their eyes and they gasped in shock at the site. Eclipse no longer bore any resemblance to Dylan. He was blood-red colored, with horns and an extra set of eyes on his head, a fiend from the underworld. He could've made Black Doom look handsome. The Chaos Emeralds had turned a dull gray.

"At last... I am finally complete... for the rest of your pathetic lives; you may refer to me as Perfect Eclipse, but I doubt that you will be around any longer." Perfect Eclipse grinned evilly.

Dylan was done playing around. "I've had ENOUGH!" With a shout a purple aura surrounded him. "YOU'RE MINE!"

Shadow spoke up. "Dylan, WAIT!" But Dylan charged forward.

Dylan focused as much energy as he could into his fist and let it fly.

BAM

When the dust cleared, Dylan was shocked. Eclipse was hardly fazed. The punch hadn't even left a mark.

Eclipse grabbed Dylan's arm and with his other hand, punched. Dylan was sent flying, but Shadow caught him.

Shadow helped Dylan up.

"Let's attack together!"

"Ready when you are!"

The two heroes concentrated their energy. Eclipse just stared.

"CHAOS…SPEAR!"

They sent a huge spear sailing at Eclipse, but Eclipse calmly swatted it away like a fly.

Dylan and Shadow nodded to each other and charged.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

The two warped, but Eclipse seemed to see them in slow motion. He zoomed forward and rammed them. Both sailed into the altar.

Shadow got up and prepared to remove his power rings on his wrists but he felt a huge surge of energy. He looked to see Dylan get up. Dylan was glowing purple. He was focusing energy. Too much energy. His eyes widened.

'_Dylan, have lost your mind!?! It won't work!'_

Eclipse grinned evilly. "You're going that far?"

Dylan growled. "One way or another, you're going down!"

Dylan started glowing red. "CHAOS…

Dylan disappeared and reappeared, shoving Eclipse into the altar.

"**BLAST**!"

A huge explosion appeared. Shadow was sent flying from the force of the blast, but he managed to land on his feet.

"DYLAN!"

When the blast cleared, Dylan was back to normal. He struggled to get up, and noticed that Eclipse wasn't there.

"Finally, it's over. I got him."

Eclipse then appeared in front of him, without a scratch on him. Dylan was shocked. This was impossible.

"That…can't be. Just…what are you?"

Eclipse chuckled.

"I am your worst nightmare."

With a kick, Dylan was launched into the air. Eclipse warped next to him and unleashed a punch barrage. He grabbed Dylan by the scruff of his neck.

"Hahahahahaha. Don't tell me that this is it. Is this the world's last defense? I must be dreaming…Wait, I'M NOT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Eclipse looked at Dylan, who looked beat up.

"Well, I guess this is it."

Eclipse let go, and Dylan fell towards the ocean.

"Farewell, Dylan Mitchell. Rest in pieces."

Dylan hit the water.

--------

"NO!" said Melissa as she watched the scene take place. Everyone was watching the fight. Naruto turned to Tsunade. "We can't let him get away with this, can we?"

Tsunade stared at the sea. "I don't know. I don't think that even my attacks would hurt Eclipse now. We need a miracle." Knuckles stated. Naruto, Sarah and the others looked at the ocean in sadness.

"DYLAN!" screamed Sarah.

-------

Dylan was unconscious in total darkness. _'I gave it my all, I put everything into the fight against him, and I still couldn't win.' _Dylan's spirit was all but shattered. _'I really AM weak.'_

Then the voice that he had heard before spoke in his head.

"**Are you about to give up hope?" **It said.

'_What else can I do? I have my limits. He surpasses them.'_

"**Mobius and the other universes need their champions...and you as well. You are their greatest champion. Your limits far exceed this demon of your mind" **It told him.

'_But Eclipse absorbed the Chaos Emeralds. He's unstoppable now.'_

"**Have you truly forgotten?"**

The Chaos Emeralds appeared Dylan's mind's eye.

"**The Chaos Emeralds have two energies: positive and negative. Eclipse may have absorbed the negative energy, but the stronger positive energy is still there. Reach out. Call to it. Let it give you strength"**

Dylan weakly raised a hand. His hand touched the emeralds. They let off a light that engulfed Dylan and surrounded him.

'_I…I feel the energy. It feels…warm.'_

Suddenly, an orange echidna who wore a white dress with designs and wore ancient accessories appeared. The echidna, Tikal, spoke words that were familiar to Dylan.

**"The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one who unifies the Chaos."**

In the real world, Dylan opened his eyes, which where lit with new determination.

------------

Suddenly Knuckles felt a HUGE surge of energy.

"Knuckles?" asked Tails.

Knuckles looked at the island. What he saw shocked him.

"LOOK! THE CHAOS EMERALDS!"

Everyone looked. One by one the emeralds started glowing. When all seven were glowing, the Master Emerald started to shine brighter than the Sun.

A huge beam of light erupted from the ocean, causing the water to churn. Eclipse, surprised, spun around in midair.

"WHAT!?!"

Dylan was standing on the water's surface, his wounds healing as he literally glowed with power.

"You thought that you could win by becoming a monster yourself? You cannot win."

Dylan didn't gesture, but the emeralds appeared in a flash of light, spinning around him.

"I was chosen by the Hero's Sword to be the next guardian of these worlds, and is just what I am going to do. I won't let anything, not even my inner demons, get in my way!"

Dylan clenched a fist.

"This is it, Eclipse! Behold the true ultimate power! You will not rule this or any other universe!"

The emeralds spun faster.

"Against someone like you, there is only one thing to do! YOU READY FOR THIS!?!"

Dylan thrust his fist into the air.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

The emeralds merged with Dylan's body. Flashes of light appeared everywhere. Everyone, including Shadow and Eclipse, had to shield their eyes. One final pillar of light shot up through the sky, reaching out to space.

When the light cleared, the group, Shadow, and Eclipse saw Dylan, but he looked different. He looked taller, and more serious. His hair had turned yellow and stood on end. His eyes snapped open. His eyes had changed from their normal peaceful blue to a fierce red.

Dylan looked at Eclipse, who, for the first time in his physical existence, felt fear. He shook it off.

"Who are you?! Tell me your name so I can KILL you!"

Dylan smirked and pointed a finger at Eclipse.

"The name's Super Dylan!"


	30. A Hero is Born

Tales of Destiny: The Beginning

Disclaimer: I only own my own characters. Nothing else.

Chapter 30: A Hero is born

Everyone stared. Finally Sonic spoke up.

"I don't believe it…Dylan went Super!"

"Super?" asked Naruto.

"There are only a few beings who have the ability to use the Chaos Emeralds' true power. Sonic and Shadow are two of them." explained Knuckles. "It seems that the Emeralds have entrusted their power to a new being now."

"Get to the point." said Tsunade. "What does this mean for us?"

"I'm not sure, but this fight is not over yet."

From where he stood, Shadow observed the new Dylan.

'_Go get him Dylan. Show us what you can do.'_

Eclipse growled for a second, and then chuckled. "Impressive...but it won't save you. You can pull any sort of trick that you wish, but you are only delaying your inevitable destruction."

Eclipse pointed his palm at Dylan and prepared a dark energy beam.

WHAM!

With a speed invisible to the untrained eye, Dylan zoomed forward, giving Eclipse a face full of fist.

Eclipse hit the Island, making a visible shockwave as he hit.

In a shroud of darkness, Eclipse reappeared facing Dylan.

'_This is impossible. How did he get this strong?'_

Dylan and Eclipse stared each other down. Both knew what this meant.

'_This battle, all our battles, ends TODAY!'_

Both powered up and charged.

Moving faster than the eye could see, the two fought, fists flying. This continued until Eclipse saw an opening, got under Dylan's guard, and connected with a 3 kick combination.

Dylan was sent flying but stopped himself. He started to glow like a rainbow as he charged up.

"CHAOS…**RUSH**!"

He shot forward like a bullet, making an audible sonic boom.

Eclipse's paling face could be seen before Dylan connected with a smashing right. Dylan pursued him and used his fists to open a can of Super fury.

Down on the ground, Sarah, Naruto and several of the soldiers along with the civilians that were rescued were cheering. Sarah was cheering the loudest.

Dylan ended his barrage with a super kick that sent Eclipse into the sandy ground.

Dylan smirked. Then he saw Eclipse get up, the fear on his face replaced with pure rage.

Eclipse shot forward and hit Dylan with a savage four hit combination that sent Dylan into a building.

Dylan shot out and slammed into Eclipse with the speed and force of several semis.

Dylan charged up an attack and aimed it at Eclipse's face.

"CHAOS…SHOTGUN!"

The attack hit. Eclipse let a shriek of pain as he fell to the ground. He managed to land on his feet.

Dylan appeared in front of Eclipse in a flash of light.

Eclipse was panting heavily. "Well...this is certainly a surprise. I don't know how you managed to absorb the power of the Emeralds yourself, but it was something to see. I have to, as they say, give you props: that was most impressive."

Dylan chuckled and rubbed his nose.

"But tell me something, Super Dylan...How much longer can you maintain that transformation?"

Dylan was shocked. "How do you…"

Eclipse laughed. "You thought I was finished? Wrong. I still have one last thing I can do."

Eclipse took to the air, rising high into the sky, becoming shrouded in darkness, his laughter becoming louder and more demonic.

"I am very impressed that you've lasted this long, Dylan. But this game has gone on for far too long. It ends NOW!"

Two monstrous hands shot out from the darkness and slammed Dylan into the ground. The darkness lifted to reveal an outlandish figure. In shock, Dylan realized that this was Eclipse in his true form: a misshapen gargoyle-like monster.

"**You are finished, Dylan Mitchell! All I have to do is squeeze, and I will end your existence for good!"**

Eclipse's grip tightened as he started to squeeze the life out of Dylan.

Dylan tried to fight back, but it was as if his very energy was leaving him. For moment, he thought it was over, but then he heard voices as if they were right beside him.

SONIC: "Come on, Dylan! I know you can beat him!"

NARUTO: You can bring this thing down! Believe it!"

MARIO AND LUIGI: "Don't a let that monster win!"

TAILS: "You the only one that can stop him!"

KNUCKLES: "You're too strong to lose to the likes of him!"

SHADOW: "Show that monstrosity your true power!"

'_My friends…' _Dylan thought. Then, he heard one last shout…

"I believe in you, Dylan!" yelled Sarah.

Dylan, his determination rekindled, started to let off a glow.

"**WHAT!?" **roared Eclipse.

"CHAOS…BLAST!"

Dylan's body let off a pulse of energy, destroying Eclipse's hands. Dylan did a wind up and punched Eclipse upwards.

Eclipse stopped and aimed at Dylan. He opened his gargantuan mouth and loosed one last attack.

"**DARKNESS APOCALYSPE!"**

Eclipse let loose a beam from his mouth. Seeing the attack coming, Dylan powered up for one last blast.

"CHAAAAAAOOOOOOSSSS…"

Dylan thrust his hands forward.

"BEEEEEEEAAAAAAMMMMMM!!!!"

Dylan's beam of energy connected with Eclipse's, and the two attacks clashed. Eclipse poured all of his energy into the beam, and it started to push back Dylan's.

Dylan didn't hear the voice in his head, but he didn't need it. He knew what he had to do. No longer holding back, Dylan let out one last shout as he let everything go.

"YOU'RE **FINISHED**!"

Dylan's beam tripled in size and busted through the opposing beam, engulfing Eclipse.

"NOOOOOOO! THIS CAN'T BE! WHAT ARE YOU?!?!"

Dylan grinned.

"I'm YOUR worst nightmare!"

The beam went through Eclipse, sending him even higher.

"AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" screamed Eclipse before he was finally destroyed.

--------

Shadow watched Eclipse be destroyed. He was at first silent, and then he made a fist and swung it through the air as if to punch a monster in the jaw.

"YEAH!"

Then he ran for the beach to find Dylan.

---------

Dylan landed on the beach, some distance from where Eclipse had hit the ground before. With a flash of light, he was back to his normal self, with the seven Chaos Emeralds spinning around him. Dylan watched as they ascended into the sky until they could hardly be seen. Then with a smaller flash of light, the seven scattered across the horizon. Dylan watched them go.

"Dylan! DYLAN!"

Dylan turned to see Sarah running up. When she got close, she tripped on a rock, and Dylan caught before she fell. The catch turned into a hug as Sarah threw her arms around him.

"You did it, Dylan! YOU DID IT!"

Melissa was the second to run up, hugging the both of them. Dylan and Sarah turned to her.

"Good job Dylan. As a representative of G.U.N. and your mother, I'm proud of you."

Dylan reddened and rubbed the back of his head. "Mom…"

Then he heard cheering. He turned to see the soldiers and civilian cheering for him. The civilians were waving while the soldiers were saluting him.

"HEY DYLAN!"

Sonic and the others caught up. Dylan smiled and turned to them.

"YOU DID IT, DYLAN! ECLIPSE IS DESTROYED!" said Naruto, being his normal loud self.

Sonic extended a hand and the two shared a high five. "Dylan that was SWEET!"

Dylan smiled, receiving thanks and high fives from his friends.

Shadow walked up. Everyone saw him, then parted to let him through. Shadow walked up to Dylan.

"You did good, Dylan. Strong finish."

Dylan smiled.

"Thanks……buddy."

Shadow was silent for a moment, then smirked as he thrust his hand forward.

Dylan did the same. The two pounded knuckles. A strong bond of friendship had been forged between, the two of them.

Melissa smiled watching the scene play out. "All right, Dylan. I'm taking you back to the base. I personally don't want to deal with the paparazzi."

Dylan smiled. "Okay."

Sonic smiled. "Alright! It's time to party!"

Everyone laughed as they started back to where to where the Commander was waiting. Everything was silent. Okay, not everyone.

"Wow, Shadow, you've become a lot nicer! You're gonna be more fun to hang around with now! Good job, buddy!"

"Sonic, I've told you a hundred times! DON'T! CALL! ME! BUDDY!"

"Wait a second! Dylan gets to call you buddy but I don't!?! What gives!?!"

"Simple. He, unlike you, is actually my friend, you blue idiot!"

"Well excuse me! I didn't realize you were picky, moron!"

"MORON!?!"

"Guys, stop it, alright?"

"Eh, whatever."

"Peh."

Dylan smiled as he walked to catch up with his friends…and his new calling.

'_I am Dylan Mitchell, the Destined. Evil better watch out, because now, there's a new hero in town!'_

As the heroes left the scene, a dark figure watched from the shadows.

'_So, that Eclipse being was destroyed. I knew he would fall, but I did not expect this to happen. The heir to the Hero has returned. I must inform my master. He will want to know.'_

The figure turned and walked away, disappearing with the words, "Chaos Control!"

THE END


End file.
